


Nobody Listens to Kix

by InkSplots



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Clone Troopers (Star Wars), Bacta Fixes Everything, CT-6116 | Kix is So Done, CT-6116 | Kix is a Good Bro, Clone Trooper Culture (Star Wars), Clone Troopers Deserve Better (Star Wars), Clone Troopers Speak Mando'a (Star Wars), Fake Medicine, Fake Science, Fluff, Gen, Kix Just Wants to Take Care of His Idiot Brothers, Minor Injuries, More About Mental Health, Seriously Fake Medicine, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:02:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 33,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27401671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkSplots/pseuds/InkSplots
Summary: Clone medic Kix takes his job very seriously. Too bad no one else does. Series of lightly connected one-shots about poor Kix trying to help his brothers. Fake medicine galore. A couple of chapters might be a little intense for people who are very squeamish, but I'll try to give warnings before any of those. Weekly updates!(Cross-posted on ffn.net and Tumblr)
Relationships: Kix/Keeping everyone safe
Comments: 215
Kudos: 231





	1. Case 00147: Denal

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Star Wars: The Clone Wars or any related titles, characters, plots, settings, etc. These rights belong to Dave Filoni, George Lucas, the Walt Disney Company, and their various publishers and distributors. I own only the original elements of this story, the writing and publishing of which earn me no money.

"Uh, Kix?"

The soft question almost made Kix start swearing uncontrollably. He didn't mind any trooper coming to him for help, but he had only just started working on the massive pile of paperwork threatening to conquer his desk. Thinking of the polite entrance, Kix bit back the Mando'a curses with the strength of all of his flash training. When he finally turned to look at the trooper, his face had been schooled into a generally neutral expression and a rapid scan of the trooper's armor confirmed his identity.

"Yes, Denal?"

Inwardly, Kix marveled at the patience in his voice. The second battle of Geonosis had not been kind to the 501st. Kix had only been in combat for the first half hour before he had been called to duty as a medic. He had run from trooper to trooper for the rest of the battle, saving a few, but recording far too many names and numbers for the Fallen Trooper files.

"Are Geonosians poisonous?"

So help him, if this was another idiotic bet between two of the men, Kix would lose his _mind._

"I don't know; no one has ever eaten one before," he snapped. "They're venomous for sure, so just try not to get bitten and you'll be fine."

"That's the thing…"

Kix whirled to study Denal again, this time with a medic's eye. The trooper was pale and beginning to sweat, eyes unfocused.

"Kriff," Kix let out, rushing to escort Denal toward a bed. "Where?"

"My right calf," Denal said, panting lightly. "I lost my lower leg armor to one of those karkin' bugs during the battle. Later, one bit me before I could shoot it."

Kix stacked a number of pillows behind Denal's shoulders and began stripping the man of his armor, setting the plastoid aside as gently as he could considering the speed he was working at. At least if the trooper lost consciousness, the wound would still be below the level of his heart.

"When did this happen?"

"Right after the battle, sir. A man from the 212th and I were sent to collect every number we could find*. One of the presumed dead bugs rolled over and bit me before we knew what was happening..."

"Denal?" Kix prompted when the man didn't continue. "Denal, stay with me. How long ago was that? How many minutes?"

Denal blinked dazedly, his skin turning a frightening shade of yellow even as Kix watched. "Twenty, maybe twenty-five minutes ago?"

Trying to move casually, Kix moved to the Grand Army of the Republic standard issue medical cabinet found in every medbay in every GAR ship. He had chosen to stock his with a little bit of every medical remedy the Senate would approve of. Experience had taught him that the men were capable of getting into all kinds of trouble, especially with the fearless Anakin Skywalker as their general.

He dug through vials and ointments until he came up with a general antivenom he had never had occasion to use. It was meant to be administered immediately after exposure to venom, but it would work. It had to work. Kix couldn't lose another brother that day.

"Brace yourself," he warned, swabbing the inside of Denal's forearm, inserting an intravenous needle and tube. Moments later, the slow drip of antivenom had started.

Denal still looked distant. Kix didn't like hurting his brothers, but he still felt a hint of satisfaction when Denal jumped and cursed loudly at the hit of disinfectant spray on the bite wound.

"Oh, you're still awake, vod?" he asked blandly as he applied a fresh bacta patch to Denal's swollen leg in an attempt to slow the bleeding.

"I am now!" Denal hissed. "Give a man some warning!"

Kix gave an unrepentant shrug as he checked that Denal's movements hadn't dislodged the antivenom drip. "I have to mix up your next batch of this, but I need you to keep talking with me. Can you do that?"

"I don't know…" When Kix glared at him, Denal dropped his gaze to his own hands. "I'm just… I'm so tired."

"I know, Denal," Kix assured him, coming back with the powdered antivenom. "I just need you awake for the next-" he checked the time on his chrono, "-twenty-five minutes. After that, you can sleep as long as you want, okay?"

"What happens in twenty-five minutes?"

"We find out whether the antivenom will work for you," Kix told him. From the sudden paling of Denal's face, it wasn't the most helpful thing to say, but Kix didn't believe in keeping important information from patients.

"So there's... there's still a chance I might... die?" Denal asked, pausing to clear his throat every time his voice threatened to waver.

A sudden surge of fierce protectiveness engulfed Kix, reminding him exactly why he had opted to undergo medic training. "There's a chance that any of us might," he said tightly, "but I'm not going to let you die today without a hell of a fight."

Denal relaxed slightly into the pillows at Kix's rough promise. "What do you want to talk about until we know for sure?"

As a medic, Kix was sworn to secrecy. Patient confidentiality, loyalty to his brothers, and a hololibrary's worth of GAR regulations meant that much of what he learned could never be repeated. However, if there was one thing outside of warfare that the clones excelled at, it was information gathering and dispersion. He had heard a rumor from one of the walking wounded, backed up by several other accounts. Maybe the involved parties wouldn't be too offended if they knew it was for a good cause…

"Well," Kix started with a grin, "did you hear that the Jedi tossed Captain Rex from a wall during the attack?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * - 'collecting numbers' is when clone troopers go out into a battlefield after the fighting ends and record the identification numbers of the men who were killed in action. This information helps the Republic keep accurate record of their troops.
> 
> Author's Note - Hi, and welcome to my story! I've been meaning to work on my one-shots for a long time (Star Wars is always my favorite franchise for one-shots) and I love Kix, so this is going to be a collection of Kix one-shots! I meant to write ten, but that turned into fifteen, then twenty. I managed to keep it at twenty - though I'm still working on the last two - but I can't promise that I won't add more chapters later on as I think of more stuff. Some chapters will be shorter than this one, but most will be a little longer. I'm averaging 1,200-1,500 words per chapter.
> 
> Please keep in mind that I'm just a fan of the Clone Wars series. I have very little medical background and I rely mostly on Google searches and improper bacta use to explain how Kix keeps his men from dying. The medical side of things really isn't a key point of the series, which is more about Kix taking care of his brothers. All of that is to say please consult a medical professional rather than relying on any medical information you read in a work of fan fiction. Seriously.
> 
> Anyway, I intend to post one chapter a week until the story is complete. I hope to see you next week! Please consider leaving a review or PM me with any questions or comments. Thanks for reading. Have a great day!


	2. Cases 00262 and 00263: Echo and Fives

"Come on, Kix! You can give us some meds. We're your favorites!"

Kix took a moment to roll his eyes before responding. "How did you get so burnt, anyway?" Kix asked, avoiding the topic of favorites altogether. He liked seeing the friendship between Echo and Fives, but it would be dangerous for either trooper to think he deserved special treatment - especially Fives.

Echo shifted around in his seat. "Uh… well, you see, sir… Batuu has three suns."

"And?" Kix prompted when Echo didn't seem inclined to continue.

"And, well... you've been to 79's haven't you?" Fives asked evasively.

Kix only stared at him. Fives and Echo knew full well that Kix went to the Coruscanti clone dance club. Hell, the entirety of the 501st knew that everyone went to 79's. They had all seen each other there often enough, and more than one man had won the eternal loyalty of his brothers by paying the night's tab.

"So you know the ladies appreciate a tanned clone," Fives finished lamely.

Kix frowned even harder. Fives's explanation reminded him of something, some drunken, half-forgotten memory…

Abruptly, he burst out laughing. "Trooper, tell me this isn't because that di'kut from the 327th stole that Zabrak girl from you while you went to get yourself a drink."

Fives shrugged and Echo slapped him on the back, both men wincing at the collision of burnt skin. "He hasn't talked about anything else since we left Coruscant."

"Do you need a lesson in genetics, Fives?" Kix rolled his eyes again, purposefully making his voice sound like one of the Kaminoan flash-training robo-modules. "That 327th trooper was darker-skinned than you because he got a different gene combination from Jango and the Kaminoans. That's the same reason why the captain is blond and why some men have blue eyes. Recessive traits."

"But why did I have to get all the common ones?" Fives groaned.

"Luck of the draw," Kix said with a shrug. "Recessive traits overcoming dominant ones are rare, hence the whole 'recessive' part of 'recessive traits'. Some men get the rare gene combinations while others of us…. Well, we don't get to be ultra-tanned clones."

Even under the fast-developing sunburn, Fives's face reddened. "That doesn't mean I have to live inside my armor, either!"

"No, but it's a good idea to limit unprotected sun exposure, especially in unfamiliar environments."

"I can vouch for that," Echo said with a wince. "I think my ear is beginning to blister."

Looking from the sulking Fives to the grinning Echo, Kix said, "Let me see if I completely understand this: Fives gets passed over by a girl at 79's for a brother with darker skin. He decides the way to compensate is to take advantage of an easy mission establishing a Republic route to Batuu and attempts to get a tan on a tri-sun planet."

Fives glanced around the medbay in an obvious bid to avoid Kix's eyes, but Echo nodded. Kix addressed him next, "And how did you come into this?"

Echo shrugged. "He bet he could get more tan than I could."

Kix shook his head and moved to the wall cabinet to hide his laughter. "Well, sorry, troopers. I can't do anything about self-inflicted injuries. In case you missed it, we're at the edge of the known galaxy. I can't waste supplies on a sunburn."

"But we're going on leave after this!" Fives said, aghast. "What am I supposed to tell the females at 79's?"

"Tell them you're a Devaronian," Kix suggested with a grin. "Females love Devaronians, especially Zabraki females."

"Kix," Fives wheedled pleadingly.

"Sorry, men," Kix refused again. The troopers didn't budge and he decided to take advantage of a rare teaching moment. "From what I hear, the GAR wants to make you both ARC troopers. You're going to have to face your decisions head-on."

"Thanks a lot, vod," Fives muttered as he and Echo stood and made for the medbay doors.

Kix's eyes fell on a tube of burn salve and did some mental calculations. If none of the other troopers had gotten burnt, they wouldn't _need_ the salve before resupply, and Coruscant was their next stop. The _Resolute_ would travel well-established Republic hyperspace routes and there were a number of battalions in the Outer Rim right now. There was little likelihood that they would be called to assist in another battle before they reached somewhere that Kix could place an order for more salve.

Besides, Echo and Fives were good men. A little silly, perhaps, but all troopers had to blow off steam somehow.

"Troopers," he barked, and both men turned sharply. He tossed the tube of burn salve and Echo caught it with ease. "Go easy on the sonic showers, drink as much water as you can hold, get some extra sleep, and apply that before you turn in for the night. You'll be fine by the time you get to 79's."

"Thanks, Kix," both men chorused.

"Don't thank me, I don't know what you're talking about. And no one's gonna know, right?"

After two more regulation-grade salutes, Kix was left smirking in his spotless medbay as Batuu and it's three suns faded into the cold distance of space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note - I know, I know, this was an incredibly short chapter. But I can promise that this is the shortest chapter in the entirety of the story. And yes, Batuu is a reference to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, which canonically has three suns.


	3. Case (Not Applicable): Tusk Cat

"You want me to what?"

The gathered troopers made a rather remarkable amount of noise as they all attempted to explain at the same time, but Kix's gaze was firmly fixed on the creature sitting in the middle of the large group.

It was feline for sure: it's slitted pupils and angrily flicking tail said that clearly enough. Kix was fairly certain it was a Tusk Cat, but far miniaturized. He had seen the holovids from the Battle of Naboo. Those Tusk Cats had been large enough to serve as mounted cavalry. This one, though appearing full-grown, was smaller than General Skywalker's droid.

"Can you help it?" one of the troopers finally asked.

Kix rubbed at his jaw. He hadn't understood the words of the explanation, but the problem was clear enough: the Tusk Cat's hindquarters had been skewered by a thin piece of needle-like wire.

"You know I'm not a vet, right?"

"Aw, come on, Kix!" Fledge wheedled. "You can fix him up with a little bit of bacta, right?"

Kix opened his mouth, ready to unleash a scathing torrent of reasons why bacta shouldn't be treated like a fix-all tool, but he was interrupted by another trooper. This one was new enough to the 501st that his armor was shiny and unpainted and he still hadn't earned a name.

"I researched it, and Corellian Gurrcats respond well to bacta treatments," the trooper offered.

"That is good to know," Kix said with a nod. "Of course, it's not entirely helpful as this is a Tusk Cat from Naboo."

The assembled troopers guffawed at that.

"I knew it," Quasi jeered.

Strike, standing beside him, knocked his brother's shoulder. "No, you didn't."

"Well," Quasi amended, "I knew it wasn't a karkin' Gurrcat!"

"Hey," Bet said suddenly. "What if that's your name, CT-9367? Gurr?"

All teasing stopped immediately as the troopers grew distracted, convincing CT-9367 that Gurr was an excellent name. After a minute or so, the newly christened Gurr grinned around at his brothers.

"Gurr," he kept repeating happily. "I'm Gurr!"

"But what are we going to do about the… uh… Tusk Cat?" Quasi asked.

The men turned, as one, to Kix. The medic sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm really not a vet, troopers."

Even as he said it, Kix's gaze was drawn to the wounded miniature Tusk Cat. The creature was in pain and would likely die from its injuries if Kix refused to treat it.

"But you don't have anything else to do!" Fledge pointed out. Even with the warning stares and thrown elbows among his brothers, Fledge didn't notice Kix's venomous expression. "I mean, the civvies have their own doctors, and the Jedi healers are out here, too. No one is going to choose a clone battlefield medic-"

He cut off abruptly, looking guilty. "Kix, I didn't - didn't mean it that way. You're an excellent medic, the best one we've got…"

Kix stared at him. "I'll remember your preference for Jedi and civilian doctors the next time you forget to seal your helmet," he said acidly.

Obnoxiously loud laughter rang out from the group, embarrassing Fledge and startling the wounded Tusk Cat. Everyone had witnessed the aftermath when Fledge had failed to seal his helmet during a dust storm on an Outer Rim planet. The collection of rashes and small cuts on his face and neck had been difficult to miss.

However, Kix had to admit that Fledge had a point. The Zillo beast had wreaked havoc across Republic City and, though Kix knew he could help the injured, none of the Coruscanti civilians seemed willing to trust a clone medic over a doctor or a Jedi healer. And he did have a few tubes of bacta gel in his medic pack that no one would miss if they were used…

"Has anyone tried touching it yet?" Kix asked, drawing the pack around to the front of his torso where he could rummage through it.

The troopers snapped into soldier mode for the first time since the Zillo beast had been killed.

"It seems docile," Bet reported, "but it's in pain. If you jostle it much, it'll snap at you."

"It's teeth are sharp, but they can't break through plastoid or thick materials," Strike contributed, showing his bite-marked glove.

"From an initial Holonet search of the Tusk Cat, the wire would have hit no major organs," Fledge said. He was the only trooper who still wore his helmet, presumably so he could use the HUD to gather information.

Kix furrowed his brow in thought. "From the look of the Tusk Cat's body, it was a clean pierce, so we'll just have to worry about holding it still while we work. I don't have anything to numb the pain of an animal, not without knowing how concentrated to make the formula."

"So what do we do?" Gurr asked.

"Hold it as still as you can," Kix ordered, loading most of a bacta tube into the longest syringe he had brought.

"Poor cat," Quasi muttered as the other troopers nodded, glancing uncomfortably at the syringe. Each man grabbed parts of the Tusk Cat, hoping to hold it steady when it inevitably started to struggle.

"Keep a good grip, troopers," Kix told them. "If I end up getting my face gnawed off by a miniature Tusk Cat, I'll haunt you all."

Kix met the tip of the wire with his syringe, following it through the bony hindquarters of the Tusk Cat as he pulled the wire free. When he was done, the creature was impaled by the needle instead of the wire. Gently, he pulled the needle back through, releasing minute amounts of bacta gel as he went.

Of course, the moment he had touched the wire with the syringe, the Tusk Cat had gone berserk. The troopers, strong as the Kaminoans had bred them to be, were struggling to keep their grasp on a muscular creature roughly the same size as an R2 unit.

"Are you done?" Strike asked, beginning to pant a little. Kix couldn't blame him: the trooper had opted to hold the Tusk Cat's front legs, and he was forced to avoid its snapping jaws while Kix worked.

"Almost," Kix breathed, pulling the syringe away and picking up the small packet he had set beside his knee. With a clean swab, he applied a liquid bandage to the puncture wounds on either side of the Tusk Cat's spine. The animal's skin was heated from the irritation of the injury and the efforts of trying to escape the troopers' grips.

The moment the liquid bandage had sealed, Kix stepped back. "Okay, let go."

The troopers released the animal and everyone took several large steps back as it crouched down, hissed violently, and sprang to run into the underlevels of Republic City.

"Thank you, Kix," Gurr said, echoed by the other troopers.

Kix shook his head. "This never happened. If anyone asks, you didn't see me and I didn't see you. The last thing I need is to be taken to Kamino for reconditioning because I misused Republic assets to help someone's pet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note - As you could probably tell from the references to the Zillo Beast, this chapter takes place around Season 2 of Clone Wars. Fun fact: Kix's 'follow the needle' method is used in a lot of body piercing so that the stud that's left in to heal isn't sharpened at one end to allow for piercing. Nobody ask me why I know that. Also, I need Kix to give me his speech about why bacta isn't a fix-all tool. I definitely write it like one in this story... Oops.


	4. Case 00318: Hardcase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Medical Disclaimer: This chapter features blood and a dislocation. If either of those bother you, please skip this chapter! If you send me a message, I'll either give you a summary or write a toned-down version of the chapter. I don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable or uneasy!

"Hey, Kix!"

Kix wondered silently how, with the identical nature of his brothers, he could recognize Hardcase's voice without a moment of hesitation.

"What now, Hardcase?"

"Got hurt in that last battle. Captain told me I had to report here immediately."

Kix didn't look up, determined to finish the form he was filling out before he got distracted by his brother's nonsense. The neverending pile of paperwork on the medbay desk was starting to rival Captain Rex's, and officers were known for the plethora of forms they were expected to fill out on a regular basis.

"And what does the good captain think is wrong with you?"

"I dunno, something with my arm…"

Kix chanced a glance at Hardcase and slammed his hands down on the desk. "Karkin' hell, Hardcase! Get your shebs in a bunk, now!"

Scowling at the paperwork he suspected he would never finish, Kix followed Hardcase to a bed. The troopers left arm dangled limply, the sharp set to his shoulder a clear indication that his arm was no longer in socket. To make matters worse, a long cut sliced across his bicep. It was bleeding heavily, so much so that red droplets fell steadily from his fingers.

"Cut first, then put the shoulder back in place," Kix told himself under his breath, trying not to lash out further at the hapless trooper.

Kix cleaned the cut ruthlessly with a disinfectant-soaked wipe, ignoring Hardcase's groans and protests, and put hard pressure on the cut with a clean piece of gauze. The bleeding needed to slow at least a little before he tried to apply a bacta patch. If there was too much moisture, the patch wouldn't create a proper seal. The risk of infection was high with this many troopers in such a small space, even if the fighting in this sector seemed to have ended.

"How long ago did this happen?" Kix asked, admiring his own professionalism as he mentally checked the rest of the steps he would need to treat his brother.

Hardcase tried to shrug, winced, and shook his head instead. "In the battle. I shot a clanker from close range and the kriffin' thing fell on me! Caught my arm, but I can shoot with both of 'em, so I kept going."

Kix let out a sigh before he could think better of it. "Why didn't you tell someone you were hurt?"

Hardcase frowned. "But then they wouldn't have let me keep fighting!"

"That's the idea!" Kix said, exasperation thick in his voice. "Did you think they couldn't win without you there?"

"Maybe…" the trooper looked thoughtful at that. "I think I'm some kind of good luck charm."

"Clearly," Kix returned with a snort.

He carefully pulled the gauze away from Hardcase's wound, checking to see that it was clotting properly. The bleeding had slowed enough that the bacta patch would be able to seal and treat the wound without risk of infection. In only moments, Kix had applied the bacta patch and readied himself for the next step.

"That feels a lot better, Kix. Thanks!" Hardcase made to hop down from the bunk without hesitation.

Kix grabbed the trooper's forearm, pulling it out straight and holding it steady as gravity and Hardcase's momentum did the rest. With a shout, a jolt, and an audible pop, Hardcase's arm slid back into its proper place and the trooper collapsed on the floor.

After waiting a moment to see if the man would lash out or attempt to stand on his own, Kix extended a hand to help him to his feet. Hardcase flinched as Kix reached for him, but the medic used his seldom-witnessed 'kind' voice. "Easy there, vod. That was the worst of it. No more pain."

Hardcase nodded and let Kix help him back onto the bunk, looking pale. "Now, just stay here and relax while I get a sling for your arm and some pain medicine."

"I thought you said we were done!" Hardcase whined, holding his shoulder protectively.

"We are, but bacta doesn't do anything against muscle soreness. Your shoulder is going to ache for about the next week, but I'll give you something to take the edge off."

In moments, Kix had secured the sling around Hardcase's neck and back, then placed the trooper's left hand inside. As Hardcase took the pain pills he had been allotted, Kix remarked, "Normally, I would say you're good to go back to your bunk, but I'm thinking about holding you here for the night, at least. Maybe longer."

"Why?" Hardcase asked belligerently. "You said you didn't need to do anything else!"

"I don't," Kix assured him. "But I don't think you're going to listen to my instructions about how to help the healing process."

"I'll listen to you, Kix, I swear! Just tell me what to do."

Kix stared intently at Hardcase, but the trooper seemed sincere. "Get some extra rest, don't lift anything at all with your left hand for the next 24 hours, wear the sling for the rest of the day and all day tomorrow, and no strenuous activity for the next few days. Come here for pain meds after every meal and that bacta patch stays on until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Do you understand all of that?"

Hardcase gave a quick salute as he jumped off the bed. "Got it, sir! See you soon!"

Kix glared and Hardcase laughed. "Kidding!"

When he was alone once more, Kix couldn't help feeling that, despite Hardcase's reputation, he was a good man. Maybe he could actually stay out of trouble long enough for his arm to heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note - I freaking love Hardcase! The whole Umbara arc made my heart ache, but (spoiler alert) Hardcase's death hit the hardest for me. In this chapter, the poor guy just has more fight in him than he knows how to deal with, so he didn't want to leave the battle to get his arm treated. And yes, Kix has a "kind" voice that he uses with particularly scared patients, but no one talks about it because, one: they would have to admit that they were scared, two: they would have to admit that it helped make them feel better, and three: Kix would cheerfully shoot the brother who told everyone he's not the heartless medic he pretends to be. If you're one of the lucky few to hear Kix's "kind" voice, you keep it to yourself!


	5. Case 00319: Hardcase

"Hey, Kix!"

Kix groaned aloud, scanning the trooper even as he warned menacingly, "Hardcase, you'd better be coming back to thank me for being so nice to you earlier."

Hardcase, one hand pressing against the bacta patch on his injured arm, beamed at Kix's warning. "Yeah! Uh… thanks! But also…"

He peeled his hand away and allowed a steady stream of blood to seep down his arm. It was easily bleeding as badly as before the trooper had been treated, despite the bacta patch still adhered lopsidedly to his skin.

Kix's response was such a blistering flood of multilingual curses that Hardcase could only watch him with an awed look on his tattooed face. The expression was wiped away when Kix snapped, "If you bleed on my floor, you're cleaning it up. To GAR _and_ medical standards!"

Hardcase burst into frantically harried motion as only the hapless trooper could do, pacing back and forth as he tried to stop the blood from dripping off of his fingers. When Kix finally took pity on him, it was only to swipe Hardcase's entire arm with a disinfecting wipe before discarding it and applying a fresh wipe directly to Hardcase's injury.

"Kriffin' hell, Kix! Give a brother some warning, would you?"

Kix scowled at him in return. "Coming in here twice in one day for the same injury? I should just let you bleed out!"

"You wouldn't do that," Hardcase retorted with a confident grin. "Then you would have wasted all that effort working on me earlier."

Kix didn't share Hardcase's amusement as he pulled the disinfecting wipe away from the trooper's shoulder. "You've managed to rip the injury further. It won't hold a bacta patch, not like this."

"So what do we do?"

With a sigh, Kix motioned Hardcase toward a bed. " _We_ don't do anything. _I'm_ just going to have to get creative."

"Creative sounds good," Hardcase encouraged, sounding so cheerful that Kix nearly forgot how furious he was.

"Good for you, not good for me. Hold this gauze against the wound and press down hard."

Hardcase took the gauze and pressed gingerly against the cut. Kix shook his head. "Press, Hardcase, _press_."

The trooper minutely increased the pressure until Kix knocked his hand away and forced the gauze against the cut. The bleeding began to slow even as warm liquid soaked through the square of material.

Hardcase swore, attempting to squirm away from Kix's grip, but the medic wouldn't let him. "Hold the gauze here, Hardcase. Press it or I will."

He didn't watch as Hardcase took over, mind already tumbling through the next dozen steps required to heal the wide gash. In less than three minutes, Kix had developed a plan, assembled the required components, and returned to Hardcase's bedside.

The trooper watched with wide eyes as Kix set out several bottles, mixing and remixing until he was satisfied. "Brace yourself, vod," he said forebodingly.

Bacta was a strange thing. It could cut healing time nearly in half, but only with specific injuries. It had no disinfecting properties and was fairly particular about which types of materials it could be mixed with. Improperly prepared bacta solutions could be ineffective at best and dangerous at worst. Fortunately, Kix had been mixing bacta for long enough that he could get the right ratio judging from thickness and opacity alone.

First, he sprayed a disinfectant and bacta solution along the wound itself, liberally coating the entire inside of the injury even as Hardcase twitched and complained. When Kix felt he could do no more with his spray, he wiped the blood and extra bacta solution from Hardcase's arm, applying a set of pre-made butterfly stitches along the edges of the wound and pulling the tabs until both sides made contact. He had mixed a topical antibiotic ointment with bacta as well and smeared it along the stitches to speed surface healing. Finally, he slapped a new bacta patch over the entire mess for good measure. It likely wouldn't improve the situation by much, but Kix wasn't giving Hardcase a chance to reinjure himself for the third time in a single day.

Hardcase glanced down at his arm in open awe. "That was so fast! Thanks, Kix!"

He moved to slide down from the bed, but Kix braced his forearm against the trooper's chestplate. "Settle in. You're staying the night in the medbay."

"What?" Hardcase groaned. "C'mon, just let me leave. I'll go back to my bunk and sleep, I promise!"

"Like you promised last time?" Kix shook his head. "What even happened? You were gone for less than an hour."

"Jesse bet he could beat me in arm wrestling. I normally wipe the floor with him, and I beat him again even with the injury! He said it was because I was bleeding on him, but I think he's just full of-"

"Hardcase," Kix snapped, cutting off whatever vulgarity was about to come from the trooper. "So it was Jesse. He's in line to move up, but he's still not going to give up the chance to beat a fellow trooper, even one with an injury."

"Yeah, we're a problem," Hardcase agreed with a grin. "You love us, though. Without me, you'd have nothing to do!"

As if on cue, the medbay doors shot open and troopers began filing inside. The battlefield med-tent must have filled up and the least-injured men were being sent to the medbay aboard the _Resolute_. Some limped or cradled broken bones while others were supported by their brothers. The worst off were carried in on battlefield stretchers. This was only the first round of men and Kix had to work fast if he were going to save them all.

"Hardcase, I wish you were my only problem." He set off toward the men, only vaguely surprised to find Hardcase trailing behind him.

"I'm injured, but I can still help," Hardcase offered. "I take orders with the best of 'em."

Kix hesitated, unable to fully believe the spirited trooper, but Hardcase's eyes were serious as he reached out to press Kix's shoulder. "Just tell me what you need, vod."

With a slow shake of his head, Kix said, "Wash your hands and grab the disinfecting spray, wipes, and bacta patches. Clean and bandage the minor wounds and I'll take care of the rest."

Hardcase offered a sharp salute and ran off to do as Kix had ordered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note - Yep, back-to-back Hardcase chapters because the trooper just doesn't know how to stay out of trouble! That's okay, I love him for it, even if Kix doesn't - some days. And he did do his best to help Kix with the men sent to the medbay! As an interesting side note, I found the premade stitches while I was doing research for this story! They're called DermaClips, and they're an adhesive-based stitch set that clips into a set of stitches on the other side... think the buckle of a seatbelt on either side of a cut if you don't want to watch a video about them. You can search DermaClips on YouTube if you want a demonstration, but I think they're the coolest freaking things! (I am not sponsored by DermaClip, by the way. I'm just a nerd.)


	6. Case 00389: Chopper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Sorry, Rebels fans. This is not Chopper the droid, but Chopper the clone trooper who was part of Slick's squad before the battle on Christophsis. Chopper has a number of physical and psychological scars, and that should be enough background for you to enjoy this chapter.

Kix packed his medic's bag, preparing for the trip mentally as well as physically. The dread he felt at the prospect was only slightly lessened because he knew his patient dreaded their appointment equally much.

Neither of them liked their meetings, but they were extremely necessary. After the explosion that had caused such extreme injury to Chopper's face, eyes, and body, the 501st's medic at the time, Coric, had started Chopper on a strict physical therapy regimen. Since then, Coric had been reassigned, but he had passed the physical therapy responsibility down to Kix.

The extensive scarring on Chopper's face, chest, arms, and back required constant physical activity or they would stiffen and he would essentially become paralyzed by the scar tissue.

Chopper, for his part, was terrified of all medics and medical personnel, a holdover from his time being treated after the injuries, when the non-clone staff had debated sending him back to Kamino. Even then, every vod had known that was code for reconditioning. Much as Kix had gotten a reputation for treating his brothers whether they liked it or not, he didn't enjoy torture, and that's how Chopper saw their sessions.

An hour later, the transport Kix had hopped was preparing for arrival at an outpost on the secluded edges of wild space… which was a nice way of saying it was in the middle of nowhere on the galaxy's shebs.

Parable Outpost was the kind of place troopers prayed they wouldn't be assigned to. It was quiet to the point of dullness, there was no local life to speak of, and no combat had ever come within 100 parsecs of it. The outpost was the home of foolish brothers, the lazy ones, and any men who had found some way to piss off a superior officer badly enough enough. No brother wanted to go to Parable, but more than a few ended up here. Chopper, however, was here on purpose.

Just before Coric had left the 501st, the medbay had been subjected to an audit and Coric, Captain Rex, and General Skywalker were required to submit a form detailing general medical expenses over the past year. They had managed to disguise the amounts that had gone toward Chopper's treatment due to - as the general put it - creative bookkeeping, but Coric had moved on and Chopper had shared his desire to do the same.

It made sense to Kix. After all, if the GAR or the longnecks found out that there was a trooper with such severe injuries - and several psychological problems as well - they would order him sent back to Kamino for reconditioning.

No one was willing to take that chance, but Chopper had to be moved out of such a combat-heavy detachment. To everyone's surprise, Chopper had come up with a list of places he would be interested in moving, including Parable Outpost.

Chopper had been marked for infantry almost as soon as he was decanted, and he was karking good at it. Over the years, his injuries and aggressive attitude had kept him from being promoted to higher ranks, but he had gained expertise on a remarkable level when it came to battle analysis. Now, Chopper worked at Parable Outpost as a Combat, Munitions, and Enemy Tactics Specialist, a division all of his own invented by General Skywalker and ratified by Generals Kenobi, Secura, and Koon.

It was a dream assignment for the temperamental trooper. In short, Chopper stayed at Parable Outpost and analyzed battle footage sent to him. He compiled reports and sent suggested improvements for tactics and weapons technology to the appropriate departments and generals. He had complete control over how much contact he had with brothers - most of whom he outranked - but could train as much as he wanted.

Even so, Kix couldn't fight back a shudder as he stepped out of the transport and approached the door leading from the hangar into the outpost itself. He wouldn't want to be stuck here, not surrounded by brothers with chips on their shoulders, trapped with troopers who had been reprimanded for underperforming.

He exchanged nods with a few random men as he made his way toward Chopper's office. The first few times he had come to Parable, Kix had been stopped over and over by men who didn't recognize him and wanted to check his credentials. Now, he was accepted as a common sight on the outpost and no one questioned him.

Chopper's office was at the end of a long hall on the officer's side of the outpost. There was nothing marking the door as his, nothing to invite anyone in, but Kix knocked with total confidence.

"Enter," Chopper barked after a long pause.

Kix stepped through the door, carefully closing it to avoid making any unnecessary noises. Chopper was a bit sensitive to unexpected sounds. The trooper in question sat at his desk, surrounded by datapads while a holoprojector adaptor threw footage from a battle on a far wall. Chopper's two-toned gaze was fixed intently on the scene, and he scrawled hasty notes on a pad of flimsi as he watched.

"It's time for your therapy," Kix said, loathe to interrupt, but equally eager to get this over with.

"We just kriffin' did this," Chopper grumbled, still writing.

Kix scoffed. "Three months ago. You know we have to work the scarring at least four times a year or it'll-"

"Yeah, yeah, it'll freeze up," Chopper interrupted. He sighed, pausing the holovid in place while he finished making notes and stood. Despite his dread of the therapy, he was already dressed in the gray outfit all clones wore to work out and spar. "Let's get this over with."

Kix nodded, opening the medical bag. He tossed Chopper a bottle of medicated lotion. "Here's enough for the next three months, at least. Are you still applying it twice a day?"

"Mostly."

Now it was Kix's turn to sigh. "Mostly? Vod…"

"I've only forgotten a few times," Chopper explained defensively.

"We'll see about that," Kix told him threateningly. "If you've been skipping applications, I'll be able to tell from the results of your range-of-motion tests."

To the medic's pleasure, the results were positive. "You've gained three more degrees of movement in your right shoulder and two in your left. That's really good, Chopper."

"Uh-huh. Let's just get through the rest of this," Chopper dismissed.

He infamously hated the next part, he always had. Kix had to work the muscles in each area, a process that required a great deal of physical contact. From what he understood, that had never been one of Chopper's favorite things, but now, the trooper despised touch on a nearly phobic level.

Kix worked to complete the process as quickly as he could while still working every patch of scar tissue as much as was necessary. By the end of it, Chopper was sweating lightly and his jaw was clenched to keep in the small pain noises.

From past experience, Kix knew his own face was pale. He hated - _hated_ \- hurting his brothers, and causing Chopper so much pain made Kix feel physically ill.

When he finally stepped back, Kix fought to observe Chopper with a medic's gaze. The trooper was pale and sweating, eyes glassy as his attention turned inward. He was fixating on the pain - never a good thing.

"Do you want the therapy machine?" Kix asked carefully.

Most sessions, Chopper refused the additional help, but it had been a long time since Kix had seen his brother in so much pain. It was a testament to the strain of physical therapy that Chopper gave a single jerk of his chin in the affirmative.

Kix wasted no time setting up the machine and attaching the small pads to Chopper's scars. The trooper's joints got a few more attachment points just because Kix had worked them so hard. Chopper didn't speak or react at all during the process.

Within two minutes, Kix had attached all the necessary equipment and powered up the machine. Chopper's shoulders crept downward slightly, dropping further from his ears with every breath.

As he stared at the small, lightweight machine that was currently blocking Chopper's pain receptors and causing a surge of endorphins, Kix fought not to fill the silence. Chopper didn't like unnecessary conversation and there was nothing Kix needed to say, anyway. He was just used to checking on the men's pain level and progress. He already knew Chopper's pain level - kriffing _high_ \- and there would be no real progress. This wasn't healing, it was preventative maintenance. Saying anything would just drive home that Chopper was deeply damaged.

Kix took in a deep breath, intent on releasing it as a silent breath, but words snuck out before he could hold them back: "I'm sorry."

Chopper's dark brows furrowed and he stared up at Kix through mismatched eyes. "No need," he said simply, dropping his gaze again.

The room's silence remained unbroken until Kix had detached Chopper from the machine, packed it away, and began to move for the door. Chopper stopped him.

"Hey," Chopper said, avoiding eye contact and speaking in a low-pitched rush of words. "I know I don't act like it, but I appreciate what you're doing for me. I don't like medics, but… I know you're a good man. A good brother. Thanks. See you in three months."

It was probably a good thing Kix walked with the crisp gait of a soldier and a medic. If Chopper had caught a glimpse of how much those words had affected Kix, the scarred trooper would have been more uncomfortable than he had been during the therapy. Still, Kix allowed Chopper's soft pronouncement to bounce around inside his helmet during the trip back to the _Resolute_ , smiling all the while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note - Chopper is so under-appreciated. Granted, most of his character was formed in fan works, but he's still an awesome character! PTSD and bitterness are very real parts of military service that we rarely see as part of the Clone Wars. I believe those aspects are important to show, even in a fan work.
> 
> For those who may be curious about the medical basis for the "therapy machine", it's a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) machine used to confuse the brain by sending pleasure signals to counter pain signals. Of course, that's just my nonprofessional understanding and explanation, so feel free to do your own research about it!
> 
> Finally, for those who are unaware, I am a little odd. I usually use the 'imaginary friend' method of writing, in which the characters who appeal to me are almost like ghosts who interact with life as I do. (I promise that I am mentally stable, just often bored with a strong imagination.) I have recently started an account on Tumblr to document some of the moments these imaginary friends cause. If you would like to check out some of those drabbles - mostly about clones interacting with ordinary Earth life - my username is WanderingInkSplot. My account is pretty bare, but I am already being followed by a bot, so you know... big leagues.
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much for reading and I'll see you all next week. Have a great day!


	7. Case 00465: Admiral Wullf Yularen

"Admiral, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I was treating the men in the temporary medbay in Hangar 3," Kix explained as he hurried into the overflowing medbay to find Admiral Yularen waiting for him. "Were you injured in the bridge explosion?"

"Slightly," the stern admiral revealed. "A few cuts and bruises, hardly worth treating."

"It's all worth treating, sir," Kix replied firmly. "We have the time and the supplies. Besides, the infection rates in these cramped quarters are abysmal."

"Whatever you believe is best," Yularen accepted.

Kix could almost sing at the relief of having a patient who didn't seem intent on his own destruction. "Please sit, Admiral."

The older man gave a sharp nod and looked for a place to sit. As all of the beds were taken by men in too poor condition to be in the temp medbay in one of the hangars, Admiral Yularen was forced to perch on a stool Kix kept in the corner. When he moved, it was ginger, and Kix watched him settle onto the very edge of the stool and wince as he clutched at his ribs.

After Kix had collected some bacta gel and a set of adhesive stitches, he stepped back to the admiral, careful to keep his tone bland. "I will need to do a full exam before I start treating you. My scanner is currently being recharged after examining so many of the men, so I'll need to do a manual check for injuries."

"I've already detailed my injuries," Admiral Yularen reminded crisply.

"Yes, sir," Kix agreed patiently. "But in battle, the adrenaline and shock can make men miss injuries that could harm them later on."

"Medic Kix, we both know I am beyond suffering from the effects of adrenaline," Yularen's shoulders were stiff with displeasure. "I am far too experienced to fall prey to the shock of an injury."

Kix squared his own shoulders. If Yularen wanted to be direct, Kix could meet him toe-to-toe. "Your ribs are injured, sir. There's no amount of experience that can stop shards from puncturing your lungs if any of them broke completely. Remove your shirt."

"I do believe I understand what the commander and captain complain about so often," the admiral muttered. Kix ignored him in favor of testing the officer's torso. He really had killed the power supply on the medscanner, so the examination was going to be more hands-on than either of them would have preferred.

After thoroughly mapping Yularen's injuries, Kix sighed. "Well, your ribs seem to be intact."

"No small feat, considering how you were pressing on them." Kix rolled his eyes before he could fight back the motion, but the admiral took it in stride and continued to test his knowledge. "From what I understand of bacta, there is no internal application."

"Not without going through the bloodstream, which can be dangerous," Kix confirmed. "I can issue you some pain meds, but I want to take a look at your left calf. I saw a bad burn there. What happened?"

Admiral Yularen looked confused for a moment before his expression cleared. "I was dragging a trooper away from the bridge and my leg hit a scrap of hot metal from the control panels."

" _You_ pulled a trooper to safety?" Kix asked, unable to fight the question back down.

The admiral was seen as the main administration officer on the Resolute. He had served in the GAR for a few decades, but as an officer. That was an important distinction when it came to how he had treated and been treated by others.

Furthermore, he had never spoken in favor of the clone troopers. Unlike most prior GAR officers, he had never treated the clones like lesser soldiers - or at least not more than any officer did to the men they outranked. However, Yularen had never said anything to insinuate that he particularly liked or even cared about the men. He did not use their names, preferring to simply refer to them as 'soldier' or 'trooper'.

With all of that, Kix thought his surprise was justified, but Admiral Yularen seemed thoroughly insulted. "Yes, several troopers, as a matter of fact," he answered coldly. "I have served in my share of battalions and fought in countless battles. I never leave a man behind."

"Of course not, sir," Kix agreed, absorbing himself in examining Yularen's leg. The burn was severe, already blistered in a quickly-swelling mass of skin.

As he prodded gently at one side of the burn, Admiral Yularen hissed out a breath. Kix frowned. "Admiral, how long did you continue to help after you were burnt?"

"It happened with the second trooper," he admitted. "I worked for quite some time afterward. Perhaps an hour or two."

Kix nodded. That explained why the burn was so far along. He would have expected the admiral had come to the medbay only minutes after it had happened, not hours. "I'm going to apply burn cream and a bacta patch. As I'm certain you already know, burns are disproportionately painful. I'll issue you some high-strength pain meds for it."

"Whatever you feel is best."

For all of his uncertainty about the admiral, Kix had to admit that the man was tough. During the application of the cream and the patch, there were several times at which Kix had expected to be reprimanded by Yularen, but the admiral had remained silent. For security reasons, the high-strength pain medication was locked away in a closet not attached to the medbay. With a short explanation to the admiral, Kix left to fill the amount he intended to prescribe.

When he returned to the medbay, Kix found Admiral Yularen in deep conversation with no fewer than four injured troopers. Each had sustained damage to their legs, ribs, head, or spine during the bridge attack and had to stay in the medbay where Kix could keep a close eye on their condition.

Even as Kix watched, Snare and Bet made a joking comment toward the admiral, one better-suited to the barracks than a conversation with a superior officer, but Yularen fielded it with an eye roll and an almost-hidden smirk.

Kix cleared his throat. "Admiral, here are your pain meds. Have one with every meal and one before you go to sleep. You've got enough for three days, but you'll need to come back so I can change the bacta patch tomorrow evening."

"Thank you, Kix," Admiral Yularen said before turning to fix the men with a steely glare. "Behave for Kix. He's a good medic. I'll hear no excuses if you come back and begin complaining about your injuries."

"Yes, sir," Quasi said with the sloppiest salute Kix had ever seen.

"Don't do anything we wouldn't do!" Gurr requested with a grin.

"I have yet to find anything you men would avoid doing, so I can safely promise that," Admiral Yularen said dryly. "Thank you again, Kix. I will see you tomorrow evening."

When the admiral had left the medbay, Kix eyed the troopers lying in their beds. "I didn't know you were so close to the admiral."

Snare shrugged. "He saved our lives. He dragged each of us and a few other men away from the bridge. I would have burned to death if it wasn't for him. Can't help but be friendly after that."

Kix nodded, but with little other response he could make, he just said, "Lights out in two minutes, men."

As he went to flick the lightswitch to shut down the piercingly bright overhead lamps, Kix mused over the revelation. He would never have expected the admiral to take such an interest in the men, but it was a welcome surprise. In the current political climate, clones needed all the friends they could find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to dieFabuliererin and Swindled_Ink for their beautiful reviews on the last chapter!


	8. Case 00506: Jesse

"Well, at least it went straight through," Kix commented, examining the back of Jesse's blaster wound.

"It's a blaster bolt," Jesse groused, his voice tight with pain. "They all go straight through."

"Yes, but it didn't hit anything vital," Kix disagreed. "That's not something you can say about a lot of injuries affecting this part of the body. An inch in the wrong direction, and you would have been dead, helmet or no. You got lucky, Jesse."

Kix stood to retrieve an armful of items from the medical cabinet, but paused when he saw an expression that could only be described as pouting on Jesse's face. "Why are you making that face, trooper? Is there another injury I should know about?"

"No," Jesse said flatly, trying to turn away from Kix, but the motion only aggravated the neat wound in his trapezoid. He winced and went back to facing the same direction as he had been before.

Deciding to leave it alone for now, Kix gathered the few supplies he needed and came back to Jesse's bedside. "I'll need you to tilt your head in the other direction."

With a small, pain-filled noise, Jesse did as Kix had asked, stretching the wounded muscle connecting his neck with his shoulder. Kix set to work disinfecting the injury, a process that Jesse endured as stoically as he could manage.

While he worked, Kix puzzled over Jesse's odd reaction to his injury. Jesse had seemed pained, of course, but he had also been embarrassed. Hardly the reaction Kix would have expected from the trooper. Jesse wasn't overly cocky, but he certainly enjoyed being in the spotlight.

"What happened?" Kix asked bluntly, deciding that being direct was his best chance of getting the truth.

"I got shot," Jesse answered simply. Kix pressed a bit harder with a disinfecting wipe than was strictly necessary and Jesse let out a yelp and glared at him. The medic gave a small shrug as if to apologize and Jesse sighed. "I wasn't paying attention in the field and I didn't see a super battle droid approaching."

Kix huffed out a breath. That was a bad mistake to make. Super battle droids were far superior to basic battle droids, but they weren't exactly on commando droid level when it came to subtlety. "How far away was it?"

"A little more than a klick."

"I didn't know SBDs had sniper capabilities," Kix commented.

"They normally don't, but Fives found out that it had been augmented by the Seppies," Jesse said, voice bitter.

Ah, now things were starting to make sense. Since he had first become part of the 501st, Jesse had idolized the older Fives. "I had heard he and Echo were sent back to us for a few missions. How does he like being an ARC?"

"He says it's great, but a lot of responsibility," Jesse admitted. "I was asking him about the training when he pushed me out of the way. If he hadn't seen the droid, I would have died on Er'Kit."

The disgruntled tone in Jesse's voice was something Kix couldn't begrudge him. Er'Kit was no place to die, especially from a blaster shot by a droid. "Well, sounds like Fives was in the right place at the right time with his rangefinder pointed in the right direction. I'm sure he was glad to help you out."

"Yeah, I guess," Jesse said morosely, wincing as Kix started applying the bacta in long sweeping motions. "But maybe I'm not ARC material after all."

"That's not true," Kix said matter-of-factly. "I've seen you think on your feet, help the other troopers, and work independently better than most of the other men. Those are all signs of an ARC trooper. Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean that you're automatically out of the running. It wasn't even much of a mistake. A klick is a pretty far distance. Not many men would expect a droid sniper attack from that distance."

"Fives noticed," Jesse returned bitterly.

"Lucky for you," Kix reminded. "You may not remember this since it was right around the time that you were brought into the 501st, but Fives made more rookie mistakes than most troopers in the legion. Hell, he made more mistakes than most of the GAR and he's an ARC trooper now. You've got hope, kid."

"Kid?" Jesse repeated, aghast at the designation.

Kix shrugged. "As long as you insist on idolizing _Fives_ , of all troopers, I'm going to call you 'kid'. He's a good man, but he'd be the first to tell you not to follow his example. Point is, he saved your life today. You saved the lives of two men on Socorro last week. Focus on doing your best work instead of what other troopers are doing and I promise you'll rise in the ranks. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Jesse said sarcastically, but his smile was genuine as Kix affixed a bacta patch on either side of the wound and placed Jesse's arm in a sling.

"You'll have to stay here for a few hours while I monitor the progress of your healing," Kix warned him.

"That's okay, I could use a nap," Jesse agreed, settling easily against the flat pillow. "Thanks for everything, Kix."

Kix nodded back at him and went to start the paperwork on the injury. Thankfully, very few troopers had been injured on Er'Kit and he appreciated the lack of additions to his stack of forms, especially since he was falling ever further behind.

He wasn't even shocked when Fives and Echo stepped into the medbay an hour or so later.

"Hey, Kix!" Fives greeted, his voice ringing through the nearly-empty medbay. "We're here to see-"

"He's back there," Kix interrupted, pointing toward the section housing the beds. "If he's asleep, leave him alone."

"Good to see you, too," Fives grumbled even as Echo grinned.

Kix stood abruptly and Fives's eyes widened as he clearly wondered what the medic was going to do. Behind him, Echo glanced between the two like he was watching a bolo-ball match.

Kix braced his hands on the desk and leaned across it slightly. "Congratulations to both of you on becoming ARCs. I've never known two men who deserve it more. Fives, thank you for saving Jesse's life. I'm glad you're back with us, even if it's just for a few missions."

"Glad I could help," Fives said slowly, then grinned. "Jesse's a good man, even if he's a little… er, over-enthusiastic."

"Over-enthusiastic?"

" _You're_ calling someone over-enthusiastic?"

Fives scowled at Echo and Kix's simultaneous and incredulous questions. "Fine, fine. I was worse. Probably still am. You don't have to gang up on me. I'm going to talk to Jesse now. At least _he_ likes me."

As Fives and Echo stepped through the privacy wall and went to visit Jesse, Kix rolled his eyes and returned his focus to his paperwork. If there was a small smile on his face, he would never admit it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's my shameful confession: I don't have a good grasp on Jesse. He never really stood out for me as a character and I have a hard time 'hearing' him, so I have a hard time writing him. I also have very little idea on timelines about when he became an ARC versus when Fives and Echo were made ARCs. All of that means that this isn't my strongest chapter, but I tried!
> 
> Thank you to dieFabuliererin and ZeAwesomePrussian for their lovely reviews on last week's chapter!
> 
> If anyone is interested in some extra clone trooper content, feel free to check out my Tumblr account, username wanderinginksplot for a daily series of drabbles. Otherwise, I'll see you all next week!


	9. Case 00563: Nute Gunray

"Okay, men," General Skywalker said, pacing back and forth in front of the gathered troopers. The entirety of Torrent Company was in the large room. Kix had even been called from the medbay to attend the briefing. "Some of you may know that we have a prisoner onboard the _Resolute_. We are transporting Nute Gunray, a Separatist leader, to Coruscant to stand trial for his crimes against the Republic."

A muffled cheer rang from the back of the room, joined quickly by other sounds of approval by the other troopers.

Skywalker smiled, but motioned for the troopers to calm. "I know, men. We did good. Still, there's a long way to go before we get to Coruscant and the Separatists are going to try everything they can to take him back into their custody. We're going to heighten security, add some guard shifts. Basically, we're on high alert until we get him into Republic hands on Coruscant. If you see or hear anything different or wrong, report it to me, Ahsoka, or Rex. We'll advise you what to do from there. As always, no interacting with the prisoner. Don't give him anything, physically or verbally. Rex?"

Rex stepped forward. "As the General said, we know what to do here. We've lost Seppie prisoners in the past and we can't take any risks with this one. I'll assign extra guard shifts at fourteen-hundred hours. Report to the barracks by that time to receive your new assignments."

General Skywalker smiled. "There's no other group of men in all of the GAR that's better qualified for a high-security mission like this one, and none I would rather have at my back. Dismissed."

In the ensuing rush of troopers, the general said, "Kix, could I speak to you?"

Kix saluted, tucked his helmet under his arm, and approached the spot where the general stood. "Yes, sir?"

"Gunray seems to need some medical attention," General Skywalker said, clearly unhappy. "Under the terms of the Republic Code of Conduct and GAR regulations, I am obligated to give him access to medical care."

"Understood, sir," Kix responded easily. "I'll go pick up a pack from the medbay and report to the brig immediately."

"Wait a minute, Kix," Skywalker said, sounding thoughtful. "That gives me an idea. None of Gunray's injuries are life-threatening; he's just whining about them to make us sympathetic. Maybe we shouldn't send you in at all."

Kix made eye contact with Rex and both men glanced around the nearly-empty room while the general and the commander looked unconcerned at the implications of what General Skywalker had just suggested. The few troopers still in the briefing room kept their eyes on the floor. General Skywalker was their leader and they respected him, but what he had suggested was a violation of every peace treaty the Republic had ever made.

"I think it would be best if I went to see him anyway, sir," Kix told him. "We wouldn't want him to complain that he had been mistreated."

"Or maybe we should have you give him something to really complain about," the general suggested darkly.

Kix's spine stiffened and the remaining brothers in the briefing room shot incredulous expressions toward their general. From General Skywalker's face and bearing, he didn't understand what he had just asked Kix to do.

Clones were looked down upon by most of the Republic. They were seen as being scarcely capable of medical duties to begin with, a last-ditch option for men who would die without immediate care, no matter the quality. Kix and the other troopers could be medics, but never doctors, and the distinction was important. Suggesting that Kix treat Gunray in an ineffective manner was already slightly offensive - implying that Kix was incompetant and couldn't help Gunray with his minor ailments - but asking him to harm the Separatist leader? That would reflect poorly on Kix and every one of his brothers who trained and worked to be a clone medic.

Kix was far from alone in his shock at the general's suggestion. The brothers left in the room slowed in their actions, ready to help Kix argue his case if needed. Captain Rex frowned, his dark brows drawing together fiercely. Even Commander Tano seemed to sense that her master's words had been inappropriate, her montrals darkening as she glanced between the general and Kix.

In a room that had gone oddly silent in order to eavesdrop on the conversation, Kix shook his head. Using his mildest voice, he said, "As a medic, I'm afraid I cannot do that, sir. I've taken oaths to help the hurt to the best of my ability and - more importantly - to do no harm. I can't violate those oaths. I can't and I won't. Even with a direct order from you, General, I could not do what you're asking."

General Skywalker seemed to finally realize that he had made a severe misstep. He grinned and shook his head. "I was joking, Kix. I would never ask you to violate GAR regs or the Republic's treaties. Go get your pack and treat Gunray, but don't let him give you any trouble."

Kix saluted crisply and left the room, receiving a sympathetic look from Commander Tano and a pat on the shoulder from Captain Rex. His mind buzzed as he retrieved a medpack and made his way to the brig. As he walked, Kix came to the uncomfortable realization that he had lost a bit of respect for General Skywalker.

The green-skinned Neimoidian was possibly less happy to see Kix than Kix was to see him.

"A clone medic," he scoffed, his words running counterpoint to Kix's own thoughts. "I suppose they want me to die."

For a moment, Kix's stomach twisted with raw, burning emotion and he felt that he could fulfill General Skywalker's request without any regrets, but he forced the feelings away and concentrated on his training. "None of your wounds are fatal, sir, but I will make sure they heal as quickly as possible."

In only minutes, he had bandaged and applied bacta to a number of Nute Gunray's smaller wounds. There was one cut that had looked fairly serious, so Kix used a set of the adhesive stitches to close it and topped it with a bacta patch. After asking a few questions about Gunray's general physical comfort level, Kix allotted him a small dose of mild pain medicine and stood attentively nearby as the Neimoidian took the pills.

"Clone you may be, but your competence cannot be doubted," Gunray said, his rasping voice holding a begrudging respect.

"If any sudden pains develop, have one of your guards call for me immediately," was Kix's only response.

Kix returned the unused supplies to the medbay, every motion clipped and efficient despite the discomfort still bubbling inside him. His arms ached to lash out at the idea that people found him less capable because he was a clone, and his throat fairly itched to release a Mando'a curse or two, but he fought back the urges.

After all, and despite everything, he was a professional.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who have subscribed or left kudos on my work! I appreciate you! Special thanks to Glowsquid for TWO incredible reviews! You made my day! See you all next week!


	10. Case 00598: Commander Ahsoka Tano

"Is that everyone?" Kix asked the last set of troopers to stagger into the medbay.

"No, there's one more," Appo said with a glance behind himself.

"Stretcher?"

"No, walking wounded." Kix relaxed at Appo's negative. The walking wounded were always in better shape than those who had to use a stretcher for transportation.

Swoop, leaning against Appo's uninjured shoulder, grinned. "This wounded soldier is probably more than 'walking', though."

"The commander?' Kix guessed, and was answered by matching nods. "What happened to her?"

"She was with the captain, so we're not really sure," Appo said slowly. "We were in the group with the general."

Kix shook his head. "Both of you, find a bed. It's going to take me a while to treat the men who are here, and neither of you are at risk of death. Best settle in for the long haul."

Still, Kix had worked his way through the wounded troopers and was finishing with two men who had received injuries more minor than Appo or Swoop. Still, the commander had yet to appear.

After he finished with the men, dismissed them to their bunks, and checked on the ones who had to stay in the medbay, Kix tried calling Commander Tano's comlink, but there was no answer. With a frustrated sigh, he keyed in General Skywalker's comlink code instead.

"Skywalker here."

"General, it's Kix. I heard Commander Tano was injured in the battle, but she hasn't come into the medbay yet," Kix said, feeling somewhere between a concerned medic and a tattling child.

"Seriously? It's been two hours!" Skywalker made a frustrated noise. "Stand by, Kix. I'll call and ask what got her sidetracked."

Kix's comlink went silent for less than a minute before the general called back. "Expect Commander Tano shortly."

Sure enough, the commander appeared only minutes later. She was walking slowly, her posture announcing that she was in pain as clearly as if she had said it. She looked clean, dressed in her casual clothes rather than her armor, but her face was weary and pale under her facial markings.

"Commander," Kix greeted with a frown. "You should sit."

Knowing she wouldn't appreciate being put in a bed immediately, Kix herded Commander Tano toward the well-worn chair tucked under his desk. She sat heavily and leaned her chin on her fist, eyes fluttering closed.

"Commander?" She made an inquisitive sound, but did not open her eyes. "Commander, I need you to tell me what happened."

"I had about twenty men with me. We were fighting to reclaim a ridge outside of Balith's capital city and the Seppie tanks fired on us. The shots went wide and missed us, but they caught the cliffs up above. There was a rockslide."

She stopped talking and Kix frowned. "None of the men had injuries from a rockslide."

"I used the Force to push them away," Commander Tano explained tiredly. "I thought I could move them out of the way and get out before the rocks reached us, but everything happened faster than I expected and I got hit. I dodged the big rocks, but some of the smaller ones got me."

"And why didn't you report here immediately?"

She shrugged. "I meant to, but I knew there were a lot of men waiting and I figured I would shower first. Then, I wanted to sleep more than anything else. Can I just go back to my bunk?"

"Sorry, Commander," Kix refused. "The big concern here is a concussion. I'm going to examine your head, all right?"

"Do I need to open my eyes?"

"Not immediately."

"Then go ahead."

Kix set about examining her montrals and lekku for damage, even going so far as to lift each one to study the undersides. She was bruised in several places, but he wasn't finding much in the way of cuts.

As he examined the commander, Kix kept up a steady stream of questions: "Are you seeing lights in your eyes? Were you unconscious at any time? Is your vision blurred? Any sensitivity to light? Headache? Nausea? Memory problems? Confusion?"

Commander Tano answered no to every question except headache with light sensitivity, but that could very well be a migraine in response to the aftereffects of a rockslide and corresponding adrenaline rush.

"Okay, we've reached the open-eyes section of the examination," he told her, and the commander reluctantly did as he had instructed.

Kix studied her pupils, relieved to find that both were the same size and normally dilated. She tracked his movements without a struggle and grimaced when he gently pinched her arm.

"Well, you've passed all of my tests," he told her, "but you still need to stay the night here so we can make sure you're resting properly."

It was a testament to how the commander felt that she didn't argue. Normally, she would have fought as hard as any one of the men to avoid spending the night in the medbay.

She paused only once to ask, "You aren't going to plug me into a machine or poke me with needles, are you?"

"No, sir. I'll wake you up fairly often and ask you some questions, but no machines and no needles."

"Good," she said with a hint of a smile. "I would hate to have to Jedi you in my sleep because you messed with a needle."

"Considering you lost a game of chicken with a rockslide earlier today, I think I could survive the experience," Kix replied dryly.

"Or did I win a game of chicken?" Commander Tano asked, clambering up and into a bed. "Besides, I wouldn't have gotten hit at all if I hadn't been protecting Rex. That cold has really slowed his reflexes…"

Kix whipped back around to face her. "What cold?" he asked dangerously.

"Uh…" the commander hedged, clearly trying to find a way out of the situation. Kix's narrowed eyes didn't leave her face and she sighed. "The cold he told me not to tell you about."

Kix nodded slowly, already keying the captain's code into his comlink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: these chapters are mostly posted in the order they were written. I had always planned for Ahsoka's chapter to come out this week, but last week's episode of The Mandalorian really kicked things up a notch! Out of respect for those who haven't seen the episode yet, I won't say anything more. Concerning this week's chapter of this particular story, poor Rex! He's probably in trouble with Kix.
> 
> Thank you to those who have subscribed or left kudos on this story, and special thanks to my reviewers: Leandra_Falconwing and Glowsquid! You both are amazing!
> 
> If you hate waiting a week between updates, just know that I post a daily journal-esque series on Tumblr, featuring different clone troopers every day. My username is WanderingInkSplot in case anyone wants to check it out. I always get a kick of seeing people on other platforms, so make sure you say hi!


	11. Case 00599: Captain Rex

"Rex," the captain answered without preamble. He sounded thoroughly miserable, voice thick and intonation slurred.

"Captain, Kix here. I need you to come down and sign the wounded files."

"Already?" Rex asked, sounding somewhere between weary and impressed. "You're never fast when it comes to paperwork."

"True, so hurry over before the next crisis walks in."

"No, I sent Hardcase to scrub the mess," the captain joked with a pained laugh.

"I'll see you soon?" Kix pressed.

"On my way now, Kix."

When Kix ended the transmission, he found Commander Tano watching him. "You haven't even started your paperwork, have you?"

"No," he said, unrepentantly. "But he wouldn't have come here otherwise. You should be sleeping."

"Especially if Rex is coming here," she agreed. "How often will you be waking me up?"

"Once every fifteen minutes for the next two hours."

"Every-! How do you expect me to sleep?"

"Very well, considering that your eyes are already closed," Kix said softly, knowing that she would likely be asleep before the end of his retort. She certainly didn't answer.

When Rex arrived, he was wearing full armor, including his helmet.

"Where are the forms?"

"Oh, I have them locked away," Kix said blithely. "Let me finish this round of status checks and I'll get them for you. Sit down and take off your bucket for now."

Kix fiddled around the medbay until he saw that the captain hadn't taken either of his suggestions. With a sigh, he retrieved the thin stack of forms he had completed - none of which were from that day - and set them down on the desk.

"It's been a while since you came in for an examination," Kix remarked.

"Haven't needed one," Rex said, scrawling his signature across the pages. A moment later, he paused and violently sneezed inside his helmet, the external speakers muffling the sound into a dull burst of static.

"What was that, Captain?" Kix asked, voice a touch too casual.

"Nothing," he said sharply. "There must have been some dust in my helmet."

Before Kix could respond, Rex signed the last form with a flourish. "Goodbye, Kix."

"Captain, you and I both know that you're sick. Your nose is stuffed up and your throat hurts. I can _hear_ it. Find a bed, let me examine you, and you probably won't even need to spend the night." Rex had paused when Kix started speaking, but he didn't turn. "I've already called the General once tonight. I don't mind doing it a second time."

Even through the heavily tinted visor common to all trooper helmets, Kix could feel the captain's glare. "Kix, I order you not to call the general."

It was Rex's 'authority' voice, the one that made troopers obey even over a HUD frequency. It almost hurt not to salute and agree… at least, it would if Kix could pop the tiny, gleeful bubble rising inside of him.

With no small amount of effort, he kept the smirk from his face and voice as he said, "Sorry, sir. According to the GAR regs, medics take authority position when it comes to matters of health where the men are concerned. Just like Saleucami, I outrank you in this. Pick a bed."

If glares could kill, Kix would certainly have died from the heat of the stare emanating from underneath the 501st-blue Jaig eyes. Still, Rex made his way to a bed - the next one down from the commander - and removed his helmet.

Kix was there a split second later to take a scan. He scowled at the results displayed on the datapad. "You have a severe infection in your sinuses, and it's beginning to affect your lungs as well. Your temperature is rising and you're showing signs of fatigue, muscle aches, and dehydration."

"I'm fine," Rex said stiffly.

"You look like hell and I'm willing to bet you feel it, too. There's no karking way you should have fought in the battle today." Rex's face went carefully blank and Kix sighed loudly. "That's why you didn't come in, isn't it? You knew I would sideline you."

"It wasn't this bad when we set out. When I realized how severe it was, it was too late. I couldn't send the 501st into battle without me." He chuckled and coughed with the effort. "Didn't do a lot of good. I got the commander injured because she had to save me."

"You and about twenty other men," Kix countered. "She would have had to help them even if you were completely healthy. There's no guarantee she wouldn't have been hurt either way."

Rex eyed him strangely. "Are you trying to make me feel better even while you're mad at me?"

Kix shrugged. "Occupational hazard," he quipped.

The medic found a bottle deep in the medical cabinet and brought it back to Rex's beside. He uncapped it and squeezed a healthy amount of thick ointment onto the end of a cotton swab.

"Brace yourself," Kix advised, not giving Rex the chance to do so before he swabbed the inside of the captain's nostrils.

Rex tried to rear back, sputtering at the burn and the smell of the ointment, but Kix only followed his movements. When the swab was done, Kix deposited it in a nearby waste can before preparing another one. This time, he smeared the viscous substance just under Rex's nose.

Kix stepped away. "Just a moment, Captain. I just need to check on the commander."

Rex, busy wrinkling his nose and shooting disgusted looks around the medbay, didn't answer.

Kix woke Commander Tano and she sat up, blue eyes narrow as she held a hand against her bruised montrals. He asked her name, age, where she was, and various other items, relieved when she answered every question without a struggle.

When he finally ran out of things to ask, she offered him an impish smile. "Any more questions?"

"I've got one," Rex interjected, eyes still watering from the ointment in and under his nose. "Did you tell Kix on me, kid?"

"I didn't mean to, I just-"

"She just let it slip due to her suspected concussion," Kix said sharply. "Go back to sleep, Commander. I'll wake you again in another fifteen minutes."

Commander Tano nodded and laid back down, wrapping the covers around herself as she turned to face the other direction. Her breathing evened out in moments.

Kix returned to Rex's bedside and the captain narrowed his eyes at Kix. "So you only find a bedside manner when the commander is asleep?"

"No, I only use my bedside manner when you're not making the commander feel guilty for accidentally telling me about an illness you should have reported yourself." Rex winced at Kix's condemnation and the medic sighed. "I know you didn't mean anything by it, but she's prone to blame herself, especially where injuries are concerned."

"Fair enough," Rex eventually agreed with a half-hearted nod. "I didn't think it through and I'm glad you stopped me. What now?"

"Well, the ointment is a combination of decongestant, bacta, and anti-inflammatory painkillers to lower your temperature. None of those will address your dehydration or fatigue. You have two choices: monitor and record your own fluid intake and output for the next full day and take a sleeping aid I give you or stay overnight in the medbay and I'll do those things for you."

Rex carefully considered the choices. "How long in the medbay?"

"It is currently…" Kix checked his chrono, "ten p.m. I can have you discharged by eight tomorrow morning."

"I'll stay here, I suppose," Rex agreed begrudgingly.

"Excellent choice, Captain," Kix congratulated, moving to get Rex a full pitcher of water and a glass. After draining four glasses and watching Kix interrogate the commander once more, Rex fell asleep and Kix went to work on his paperwork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you actually don't have to wake people up to prevent harm from a concussion, but I grew up reading stories about the practice and I wanted to include it in this fic. Also, is that nasty concoction Kix used on Rex a necessity or a slightly-outdated form of medicine given as half a punishment? You decide!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has bookmarked or left kudos on this story and special thanks to my reviewers from last week: ZeAwesomePrussian, Sued13, Leandra_Falconwing, and blobfish3690. You guys are amazing!
> 
> Thank you for reading, have a lovely day, and I'll see you next week!


	12. Case 00627: Scorch

Case 00627: Scorch

Kix glanced up at the familiar sound of the medbay doors opening, frowning as he saw two commando troopers walking in. Their distinctively styled helmets gave an air of uniformity, but the designs painted on them spoke of very different personalities.

The commando wearing the helmet marked with red, jagged lines - almost suggesting a handprint - was half-supporting, half-dragging another commando with a simple, gray-green helmet painted with white and yellow details. Kix studied both new arrivals, but couldn't find any visible injuries on either.

"What happened here?" Kix asked, already starting toward the men.

"Scorch here blew himself up," the red-painted commando answered, with a motion of his helmet that clearly said he was rolling his eyes. "Di'kut."

"I did not!" the injured Scorch said defensively, turning to address Kix. "I had a minor disagreement with a wall."

"Yeah?" the red-painted commando asked, "What were the arguments?"

"Whether or not the blast from a thermal detonator plus my own fabulous aim would make the wall go 'boom'," Scorch replied, clearly grinning under his helmet.

"Congratulations on winning your argument, sir," Kix said dryly, already promising himself to blow up the _Resolute_ and everyone inside before he would let Scorch and Hardcase meet. "Let's shed the armor and see how much damage that wall's rebuttal caused."

The two commandos completed their half-walk, half-drag journey to the first bunk in the medbay and Scorch leaned up against the mattress, stifling a pained groan. The red-painted one, obviously fed up with his brother's antics, unceremoniously lifted and deposited Scorch on the bed.

"Come on, Sev!" the commando complained loudly. "You know I'm injured and delicate."

"It doesn't count as an injury if you've always been stupid," Sev told him. "I'm going to report back to Boss."

"You're going to leave me here, alone and hurt?" Scorch asked dramatically. His only reply was the medbay door closing behind Sev. He shook his head and told the door, "Well, that was rude."

The door seemed unsympathetic.

Kix cleared his throat, wondering if he should crank the scanner high enough to scan for brain injuries, when Scorch turned back to him. He pulled off his gray and white commando helmet, grinned, and stuck out a hand. "Scorch."

"I gathered," Kix replied. "I'm Kix."

"Good, I'm in the right place," Scorch said, heaving an exaggerated sigh of relief as he began stripping off the rest of his armor. "But what is the best medic in the GAR doing attached to the 501st?"

"The best medic," Kix repeated skeptically, scanning the now de-armored commando.

"Oh, yeah. I've heard the stories," Scorch told him, eyes wide and sincere, though they sparkled with an edge of barely there mischief. "Granted, mostly from the pilot on the way here, but still."

"Troopers like to talk. And as for why the 501st…" Kix let some of his constant fond exasperation come through, "no one gets in more trouble or hurts themselves in stranger ways than them."

"And you like to treat them," Scorch summed up, the look on his face more intense than the situation called for. Kix was on-edge before the commando spoke again. "Makes you feel powerful, doesn't it? Makes you feel like you're better than them, more than just a regular trooper."

"Makes me feel like I've got one more living brother," Kix corrected sharply.

Scorch raised his hands in a gesture speaking of an innocence that his sparkling eyes belied. "Hey, I just had to make sure you weren't one of those power-trip troopers."

Kix shook his head and silently went to gather the supplies he would need to treat his patient, unwilling to continue an insulting conversation. However, since the commando had started it… He turned to meet Scorch's eyes. "If we're asking uncomfortable questions, let me ask one."

Scorch made a beckoning gesture with his less-injured hand, as if he were inviting Kix to continue.

"Why do you sound different from every other trooper, but look exactly like the rest of us?" It was something he had been wondering since Scorch took off his helmet, but he had been too polite to ask. At least, until the commando had accused him of treating men for the ego boost. As if it did wonders for his ego to be vomited on, covered in blood, to need to help his brothers to the 'fresher, to hold their hands as they took their last breath-

"I'm an excellent mimic," Scorch answered, using Kix's own inflection. Kix stared at him steadily until he continued in his normal offbeat voice. "Sometimes, a situation calls for a voice to be different so we don't sound like normal clone troopers, no matter how much we look like them. Delta Squad is full of differences. Boss has a thicker accent than most native Mandalorians, Fixer has worked to speak the most pure Basic, and Sev's vocal cords are damaged. Me, I just talk this way because I want to."

"Yeah, you can never meet Hardcase," Kix muttered to himself, fighting a shudder at the ridiculous accent the 501st trooper would be sure to put on as a result.

"What was that?" Scorch asked.

"I said, oh excellent mimic, that you've bruised your ribs, pulled a hamstring, and most of the left side of your body will be covered in bruises for the next few weeks, maybe less if you can take a couple of days to rest up." Kix frowned down at the datapad showing the scanner's results. "You managed not to break anything, which is - frankly - a miracle."

"Commando armor," Scorch told him with a sharp rap on his chestplate, wincing as the movement strained his injuries.

"Bruised. Ribs." Kix repeated, biting the end off each word so that the commando would be sure to understand him. "I'll issue you some pain meds, but the most you can do to improve your recovery time is to sleep as much as possible and stay hydrated. Most importantly-"

Kix cut himself short as the medbay door opened and Scorch instinctively turned to see the new arrivals, hissing in pain at the twisting motion. "-don't twist or move your body in unusual ways," Kix finished, giving a perfunctory salute to the commando sergeant who stepped up to the bed.

"How is the patient?" the sergeant asked. Despite Scorch's overly casual manner, Kix had to admit that the commando had given an accurate description of his squadmates and their voices. This one with the thick Mando'a accent must be Boss.

With a shrug to answer the sergeant's question, Kix told him, "Not much I can do, actually."

"Told you those thermal dets would kill you some day," the rough-voiced Sev said to Scorch with no small amount of satisfaction.

"What? No," Kix told him, nettled by the idea that a patient of _his_ could die from such minor injuries. "Scorch is covered in bruises and he pulled a few muscles. Nothing life-threatening, but they aren't injuries I can do much for. I'm issuing pain meds, but he could stand a few days of bed rest, sir."

Boss nodded while Scorch looked horrified. "I can't stay on bed rest!"

The last commando, the non-accented Fixer, sounded irritated by his squadmate. "Six-Two, you can't just choose which orders to follow. If Three-Eight says you're on bed rest, that's where you'll be unless you want a court-martial."

Scorch looked pleadingly at Kix. "I could die from my injuries, right, Kix? Even Fixer wouldn't try to boss around a dying brother."

"Er... " Kix trailed off, glancing around at the group of commandos. "Bruises have a notoriously low fatality rate, Scorch."

"I think his vocal cords may have been damaged," Sev observed. "Could you order a total lack of speaking for the foreseeable future? For medical reasons?"

"We'd make it worth your while," Fixer wheedled.

"Is it too late to say I don't want any visitors?" Scorch asked, though even that sounded like a joke.

"We probably should leave," Boss agreed, cutting through Sev and Fixer's gloating with a simple reminder of, "Lots of reports to write."

"Ugh. Really, sir? For a self-inflicted injury?"

"I was having a _good_ day, Boss."

Before he left, Boss patted Scorch gently on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay, Scorch. Rest up or we'll leave you behind on our next mission."

"Kix?" Kix glanced over at the commando sergeant, one brow lifting in silent question. "Make sure he rests. Sedate him or strap him down if you need to."

With one last threatening look in Scorch's direction, Boss left the medbay. Kix silently held out the pain meds for Scorch, passing him a cup of water at the proper time.

"You're good to sleep now," Kix told the commando. "If the pain gets bad again, let me know and I'll increase your dosage."

Scorch nodded and had just settled back against the pillow when the medbay door opened and Kix's heart nearly stopped. He walked briskly to the front of the medbay, making small pushing motions at the new arrival. "Hardcase, get out of here. You're fine."

"You don't even know what's wrong yet," Hardcase pouted.

"Hardcase?" Scorch asked, sitting up with a manic interest gleaming in his eyes.

"Yeah?" Hardcase asked, leaning to peer around Kix's shoulder. "Whoa, a commando! I heard you guys get to deal with more explosives than anyone!"

"You ever juggled thermal detonators?" Scorch asked, giving Kix an innocent shrug when the medic glared.

"No!" Hardcase said, pushing past Kix to perch by Scorch's bedside, wearing a look of utter fascination.

In only moments, the two were swapping stories, each trying to outdo the other while both seemed impressed by the other's exploits. Kix groaned. Force willing, he wouldn't have much to do with Scorch after this, but he already expected a wild number of injuries in Hardcase's near future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note - First off, I want to apologize to... well, just everyone. For those who are not familiar with Republic Commando, you're probably a bit confused about who these guys are and why they're here. I read a fic featuring the characters in a minor role and proceeded to inhale everything I could find with them in it. For those who are familiar with Republic Commando, I would like to apologize for any errors in characterization, background, etc. (Sidebar: if you know of a good fic featuring Delta Squad, please share the name of it with me!)
> 
> Thanks to all who have left kudos on this story so far! Special thanks to Glowsquid and Leandra_Falconwing for their reviews on last week's chapter!
> 
> If you need more constant clone trooper content, feel free to follow me on tumblr, where I post as WanderingInkSplot. Thank you for reading, consider leaving some feedback if you have a minute, and have a wonderful day! I'll see you next week!


	13. Case 00646: General Obi-Wan Kenobi

Kix was roughly forty forms deep in his ever-growing stack of paperwork when a knock sounded at the entrance to the medbay.

Normally, he made a point of not turning his attention to newcomers until he had finished what he was working on - a medic had to be focused, after all - but the polite gesture captured Kix's attention.

Approximately a half-second after he had glanced at the door, Kix snapped into a salute. "General."

"At ease, Kix, please," General Kenobi told him. "I'm afraid I would rather not return a salute at the moment."

If this were General Skywalker, Kix would have to use his 'medic' voice to get him to come inside and accept treatment, but General Kenobi was known for being a little more level-headed. "Please come in, General, and tell me what happened."

Kenobi had just taken a step inside the medbay and opened his mouth when his wrist comlink went off. He grimaced. "My apologies, Kix. Kenobi here."

"General," Commander Cody said from the other end of the comlink, his professionalism making him instantly recognizable. "The Jedi Council has requested that you join their meeting as soon as possible to make your report."

"Very well," Kenobi sighed, clearly preparing to turn back toward the bridge. "Please tell them I will join the meeting as soon as I can return to the-"

Kix switched from 'soldier' to 'medic' in a moment. He stepped forward to stand beside Kenobi, speaking over the general. "Commander, this is Kix. General Kenobi is currently in the medbay having his injuries treated. Please report to the Council that he will make his report after his health has been deemed satisfactory."

Kenobi gaped, but Cody's response held an edge of amusement. "Take your time, Kix. The Council will understand that health takes precedence over timely reports. Cody out."

General Kenobi stared, obviously shocked by the turn the situation had taken. "I really must report to the Council, Kix. I can return here when I've finished-"

"Patience is a Jedi virtue, is it not?" Kix asked, not waiting for an answer. "They'll be fine. Now, tell me what happened."

Kenobi paused to consider the orders he had been given by a subordinate. Finally, he laughed. "Anakin did warn me that you take your duties seriously!" The laughter faded, but the general's eyes still sparkled with amusement. "Very well, I believe I may have been injured during a fight with Ventress."

"Where is the injury, sir?"

"Just here, along the back of my neck and across my upper shoulders," the general told him, gesturing stiffly to the area he had mentioned even while his face paled with the pain the motion had surely caused.

"I need to examine the wound," Kix said, pressing General Kenobi's arms back to his sides. "I'll remove your armor, General. Just try not to move."

In a few practiced motions, Kix had unhooked the small pieces of shoulder and bicep armor the general wore. Those, along with shin armor and vambraces with attached gloves, were the only form of armor General Kenobi had chosen to wear.

Kix took a little more care as he helped the general remove his Jedi robes and tunic. Kenobi had indeed been injured in his fight with Ventress. Kix had to peel the singed fabric away from the blisters already forming on the general's skin.

It was a long and gruesome process. The fabric of General Kenobi's robe had melted as it came into contact with Ventress's lightsaber and parts of the weave had fused with the Jedi's skin. Kix was as gentle as he could be and Kenobi sat perfectly still, but he knew there would be a significant amount of pain in the process.

General Kenobi continued to bear the discomfort in silence, but Kix could not fight a grimace of his own as he finished removing the last of the robe from the burn. "If only you had been wearing a chestplate and backplate," he commented as he worked. "Plastoid won't survive a direct hit from a lightsaber, but it can block proximity burns like this one."

Kenobi laughed dryly as Kix removed the last sections of his tunic. "You sound like Cody."

"The commander is a wise man," Kix said blandly, focusing on removing a final few melted threads from the edges of the burn wound.

"Meaning that I am not?" Kenobi asked with a raise of one eyebrow.

Horrified, Kix paused in his motions and stared at the general. "No, sir! That wasn't what I meant to say."

"I certainly don't feel very wise at the moment," Kenobi admitted, reaching as if to prod the burn on the back of his neck.

Kix stopped the motion before the general's fingers could make contact. "I wouldn't do that, sir. Ventress must have gotten close, by the look of that burn. I'll have to make a bacta spray for it first, but then I'll apply some cooling gel to help with the pain."

Though Kix half-expected the general to trivialize his pain as General Skywalker would have done, Kenobi only nodded. "I appreciate your efforts, Kix."

Kix set to work creating the bacta spray. It would have to be diluted a bit more than he would have preferred. It would still be effective enough to decrease the required healing time, but it could have been stronger. The _Resolute_ was running a bit low on bacta, an uncomfortable situation this early in a series of missions. Considering the ship now held troopers from the 501st and the 212th, Kix thought it wise to conserve bacta where he could.

As he returned to where General Kenobi sat patiently, the general asked, "Do you speak Mando'a as some of your brothers do?"

"I do, sir," Kix answered. "But if you're wondering who taught the General and the Commander how to curse in Mando'a, talk to Fives. And Captain Rex," he added after some consideration.

"Noted," Kenobi said, attempting to hide a grin in his beard. "As it happens, I need assistance with a translation."

"A translation, sir?"

"Yes, I wish to know the Basic translation for a word: _jareor_." Kix paused in administering the bacta spray and the general twisted to peer at him sharply. "The expression _can_ be translated, I trust?"

"Yes, sir," Kix said, hiding a grimace behind Kenobi's back. "May I ask who said it and if it was said about you?"

"I believe it would be best to withhold that information until I receive a translation," General Kenobi said carefully. "However, I can assure you that there will be no repercussions for the one who said it."

"All right. _Jareor_ means to take an unnecessary risk, a foolish one." He finished with the spray and placed the bottle back in his medical cabinet before retrieving the cooling gel. "Now, who did I just get court-martialed?"

General Kenobi grinned. "No one, Kix. Cody commented that my strategy of drawing Ventress away while my men evacuated to the _Resolute_ was _jareor_."

"Placing the cooling gel on now, sir. Brace yourself," Kix warned. After a moment, he asked, "Do you feel you made the right move?"

"There were no casualties of the evacuation and we took out an entire battalion of super battle droids, so I must say yes," Kenobi said, wincing slightly as Kix smoothed the gel on and around the worst of the burn. "Cody just likes to throw his own authority around every once in a while."

"Ah," Kix said, fighting a grin of his own. "So he's _ori'buyce kih'kovid_."

"I beg your pardon?"

"All helmet, no head," Kix translated. "With all due respect, of course."

The general found his statement so entertaining that Kix had to pull the gel's applicator away for fear of jabbing the sensitive area. When General Kenobi had finally finished and sat wiping tears from his eyes, he asked, "Would you be willing to teach me that particular expression?"

"Of course, sir."

"Kix, have I mentioned how highly I respect you?"

"Every time we work together, sir," Kix responded dutifully.

It took the general only a few minutes to learn the proper Mando'a pronunciation, well before Kix was ready to discharge him from the medbay. When he was finally leaving, Kenobi half-turned to address Kix over his shoulder, though the move obviously caused him pain.

"Thank you, Kix, for both the treatment and the linguistics lesson," Kenobi said with a grin. "Wonderful language, Mando'a!"

Kix had to agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Cody! 
> 
> Thank you to last week's reviewers: Leandra_Falconwing, blobfish3690, asparagus_writes, Sylvan_Scout, sheApunk89, and Greenscale!
> 
> Thank you for reading, feel free to leave some feedback in a review or a PM, and have a wonderful day! Happy holidays to those who celebrate!


	14. Case 00687: Hondo Ohnaka

~~Case 00687~~ : Hondo Ohnaka

"I don't understand, sir," Kix said flatly.

General Skywalker scrubbed a hand over his face, sighing as he did so. "I don't really either, Kix."

"It is fairly simple," General Kenobi countered. "In order to receive assistance from the pirates in transporting weapons to Onderon, we had to agree to their proposed terms, some of which were rather… _odd._ One of the terms was to receive a health screening from a licensed physician."

Kix's head snapped up at that. "I am not a licensed physician," he pointed out immediately.

"I know," Kenobi said patiently, "but when I explained the difference between physicians and medics, he did not seem to care. He still wants a full exam, including any necessary treatment."

Kix sighed. "Very well, sir."

"Hondo doesn't trust us," Skywalker told Kix. "He wants you to examine him on his ship. We have a connection established between the ships, so you don't have to worry about him trying to fly off with you."

If Kix tried to speak, it was going to come out incredibly insubordinate, so he merely gave a salute and turned on his heel.

As he left the medbay with a travel medic's pack, Kix heard Kenobi remark to Skywalker, "It really was one of his less offensive requests."

"I don't see you volunteering one of _your_ medics for the job," Skywalker returned, clearly disgruntled. Kix could sympathize.

When he stepped onto the ship, Kix was greeted warmly by the pirates - 'warmly' here meaning that he found himself cheered, slapped on the back and lower places, and was soon holding a rough-looking tankard of unidentified liquid with no idea who had thrust it at him.

"I- I'm here for Hondo…" he said uncertainly, trying and failing to keep the long-practiced 'stern medic' tone in his voice.

"He's in his office, of course!" one Weequay told him with a wide smile. "I'll show you the way. Follow me!"

With an uncomfortable glance around at the dim, filthy surroundings, Kix followed the Weequay through a mass of drinking, staggering, shouting, and laughing pirates. Every step brought someone else shouting, "Ohhhhh! The medic!", which was invariably followed by another round of cheers. By the time they had traveled through the winding passageways to a room whose privacy was offered by virtue of a rusty and crooked-hanging door, Kix was no longer certain he was living the same life as earlier that morning.

"Cap'n! Medic's here!" the Weequay shouted, thumping the door with enough force to knock it further out of line.

"Good, good!" a voice called from inside. "What are you waiting for? Bring him in!"

Despite Kix's expectations, the door swung open and closed without falling completely off the hinges. By that point, however, he was in Hondo's office and there was a great deal other than the impossible door for his logical mind to sort through.

"Hello, hello, my friend!" Hondo greeted, standing up behind the heavily-scarred shipping crate he seemed to be using as a desk. "Welcome to my office! Only the best for Hondo, eh? Mmm. Yes, yes! The best!"

The best chance to contract a terminal illness, to Kix's way of thinking, but as long as the Weequay was happy...

More importantly, Kix took the opportunity to study the pirate. He had heard the stories from various Jedi about Hondo Ohnaka, but Kix had always been elsewhere whenever the Weequay appeared.

He seemed fairly representative of his species. Unlike some other Weequay males Kix had seen, Hondo had allowed the bone spikes lining his jaw to grow out. His hair was styled into a series of tightly-bound braids. Above all, Hondo's weak spots were all protected, which Kix supposed was just good business practice for a pirate who enjoyed clashing with Jedi. Goggles hid his eyes, a helmet protected his head, and - like most pirates - he seemed to be wearing every item of clothing he owned.

There was an empty blaster holster attached to his hip, and Kix needed only a fraction of a second to see the blaster disassembled on one side of the desk. Kix wasn't stupid enough to believe that the pirate was unarmed, but he was obviously taking strides to make sure his terms with the Jedi appeared to be met.

"You wanted a medical exam, correct?" Kix asked, mostly to get things started.

"Yes," Hondo said imperiously, holding his arms out by his sides, dangling palms facing toward Kix to show that he wasn't holding anything. "You may scan me now."

Kix grinned before he could fight the expression. "Medical scanners, even ones made by the Republic, aren't quite to that standard yet. You'll need to remove some layers before it can read you."

"Ach!" Hondo exclaimed, clearly displeased. "Tch! You ask Hondo Ohnaka - _Hondo Ohnaka_ \- to undress? To remove my fine clothing and signs of wealth? That is what you ask of Hondo?"

"Yes," Kix told him, thinking vaguely that he could likely return to the _Resolute_ if Hondo refused.

"Very well," Hondo agreed easily, shrugging out of his coat and removing the thick white tunic underneath. When he reached for the final item - a thin undershirt- Kix stopped him.

"That should be enough. Stay still, please." Kix selected the Weequay option on the scanner and directed it professionally down Hondo's body and back up, grimacing at the series of tones it let out before the scan had even finished processing.

"What is that?" Hondo asked curiously.

"You have some health concerns that need to be treated," Kix told him absently, trying to count the beeps and giving up as they began to overlap. "A _lot_ of health concerns."

"Ah. Well, what are they?"

Kix puffed out a sigh as he looked over the screen. "You have several cracked jaw spikes, your spine is out of alignment, there's a bone in your hand that was broken and never healed right, there's tissue damage on your neck from what looks like a blaster injury, you have a patch of hives on your shoulder because you're allergic to a parasite found on Kowakian monkey-lizards, several of your internal organs are damaged, and your liver is severely strained." He checked the scanner. "Sorry, your _second_ liver is severely strained. Your first liver appears to have shriveled several years ago."

"Eh, I have a third liver," Hondo dismissed.

Kix frowned. "No, you don't-"

"As for the others, what can you help me with today?" Hondo asked, peering intently at Kix.

The medic rubbed at the intricate design on his head, still staring at the scanner. "Your jaw spikes should be pulled and allowed to regrow, but I have no training on doing that, or spinal alignments. You'll need to go to a professional for those. The bone in your hand will need to be rebroken and you won't be able to use it for a few weeks-"

"Next," Hondo said with a wave.

Kix shook his head. "I can help with the damage on your neck and give you a gel to reduce the hives on your shoulder. Other than that, I can't do much for you."

"Medication?" Hondo asked. "Well, I don't like to use artificial pain management techniques, but if I have to, I suppose…"

With all the strength he had earned through his time as a medic, Kix refrained from pointing out that the Weequay was most certainly using alcohol as artificial pain management.

"Well, I'll disinfect the wound on your neck and apply a bacta patch as well as some burn gel. It looks like the area around the injury is irritated. How much pain is it causing you?"

"Oh, you would not believe the pain! You would not believe!" Hondo told him earnestly. "It is constant, unrelenting. It has stolen valuable moments from my life, time I will never regain…"

Kix, naturally, did not believe a word of it, but began to prepare the bacta and burn gel anyway. It would heal the wound and an extra pain med or two wouldn't hurt the _Resolute_ 's stores in any noticeable way.

As he disinfected the Weequay's leathery skin, Kix asked, "Why did you want a medical exam, anyway? Seems like an odd thing for a pirate to ask for."

"An intelligent businessman cares for his health," Hondo told him seriously. "It is his greatest treasure."

Kix blinked at the unexpected depth of the statement, but Hondo kept speaking. "Besides, I have a new lady in my life and she wanted me to have a full exam."

Trying to salvage what little intelligent conversation he could from the situation, Kix nodded. "Good that you have someone in your life who cares about your health."

"Yes, she is a lovely creature," Hondo said, almost dreamily. "There are certain… activities I wish to partake in and she won't agree until she knew that there would be no... uh... _repercussions_. Hondo is no stranger to the less-reputable edges of the galaxy and I've learned those lessons the hard way. Why, I could tell you stories…"

There was no way to know, but Kix was certain that he had set a new record for bacta patch application speed. He handed Hondo a tube of antihistamine cream and a small container of pain meds, rattled off instructions, and left the office and the ship as quickly as he could, fighting to forget the three-quarters of a tale Hondo had managed to tell before Kix left.

After a sonic shower - gear, medkit, and all - Kix returned to the medbay to restock his travel medic's kit. Skywalker and Kenobi were waiting for him there.

"So? How did everything go?" General Skywalker asked, seeming to brace himself for the worst.

"I treated some minor injuries, advised him to get treatment for some more serious ones, and I left," Kix explained shortly.

"Did he tell you why he wanted a medical exam?" General Kenobi asked curiously.

Kix fought back a shudder. "He did. Respectfully, Generals, you're better off not knowing."

Skywalker frowned at that. "What if I make it an order?"

"Medic-patient privilege," Kix returned. He could see another disagreement forming and cut it off with a sharp wave of his hand. "And if you ordered it anyway, sir, we could all attend therapy together to save the Republic some credits."

"Ah," Kenobi said, attempting to hide his amusement with some beard stroking. "Thank you for your efforts, Kix. The Republic appreciates your service. We shall leave you now."

"Wait, General," Kix called. Both Jedi paused to look back at him. "Permission to write vaguely-worded paperwork for this file?"

"You know, I think it best to have no records of this particular examination," Kenobi said slowly, raising an eyebrow at Skywalker.

Skywalker shrugged back at his old master. "What paperwork, Kix?"

They both left the medbay without another word and Kix, with a shake of his head and another shudder, stored the medkit and pointedly turned away from the empty patient forms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to missinashkin, Leandra_Falconwing, ladytano26, blobfish3690, and fingonsradharp for the reviews! They definitely made me smile! 
> 
> Probably don't party like Hondo as you celebrate the new year. Kix can't go through that again.


	15. Case 00811: Commander Wolffe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains descriptions of mistreated cybernetics, infection, and things having to do with eye sockets. The descriptions are not graphic, but they are most certainly there. Please use caution if any of the listed items make you feel gross or ill. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, I will give a short summary of what happened without the icky parts.

"Medic, we need you in the command tent right away," a trooper said from behind Kix.

Kix turned to look at the newcomer, immediately curious and concerned. He was only starting to set up the med gear as the battle hadn't started yet. As far as the Separatists knew, they were alone on the planet. Little did they know that the 501st, the 212th, and the 104th were all ready and waiting to take control.

He didn't recognize the trooper on-sight, but his armor and its gray designs screamed that he belonged to the Wolfpack. "What is it, trooper..?" he asked.

"Boost, sir," the man answered, giving a deep nod. Kix could sympathize: it was tricky to show respect through a helmet without saluting, and removing your bucket in an active warzone could mean an unpleasant death.

"Boost, then. I'm Kix. Can you tell me what the trouble is?"

Even through the heavy tint of the trooper's visor, Kix could see Boost's hesitation. "I- I can't, sir, sorry. I was only sent to bring you to the command tent."

Kix frowned. It was unlikely to be an emergency since he hadn't heard any blaster fire or shouting. The medical supplies still needed to be set up and they were meant to be his priority since the battle would start at first light… but he had to admit that he was intrigued.

"Listen, Boost, I'm a medic. Anything you tell me goes no further," Kix wheedled, trying for logic. "I need to know the basics so I know what kind of supplies I need to bring."

"It's the commander, sir," Boost admitted after a moment's pause to think. "His implant malfunctioned and he's having trouble getting it to reset."

With that information, Kix grabbed the small set of instruments he kept ready for when General Skywalker had trouble with his mechanical arm. In a motion made smooth from constant practice, he picked up his helmet and put it on one-handed, gesturing to the med tent's entrance as soon as the seal had been formed.

"After you, Boost."

Boost nodded and led him through the small camp. He wasn't rushing, exactly, but there was definitely a speed to his clipped steps that spoke of urgency. When he reached a large tent in the middle of the camp, he stopped, obviously willing to wait outside while Kix went to address whatever issue he would find inside.

Amused despite himself, Kix stepped through the tent's entrance with a small smile under his helmet, one that blossomed into a full-blown grin when he caught sight of Commander Wolffe for the first time.

Wolffe was sitting at one end of the room, scowling darkly at the trooper beside him. His natural brown eye was focused intently on the man, but the white-gray of his cybernetic eye was stuck staring up at the ceiling of the tent. Despite the furrowed brows, prominent frown, and stream of unprofessional language pouring from Wolffe's mouth, the overall effect was more comedic than anything. No matter how the rest of his face moved, the cybernetic eye was persistently pointed upward.

Clearly, one of the commander's infamous eye rolls had ended poorly, and Kix fought to keep himself from laughing aloud. Instead, the grin spread so wide that his jaw began to ache.

Even as Kix watched, the unknown brother made a comment about keeping an eye on the weather and Wolffe's frown deepened. From the markings on the trooper's armor, he was a sergeant. If Kix's memory was as reliable as he thought it was, that would make the unknown trooper Sergeant Sinker, a man well-known for his jokes and light-hearted attitude. It was an ongoing source of amusement for the clones that the most serious commander in all of the GAR should be partnered with the most cheerful sergeant.

Halfway through berating Sinker, Wolffe caught sight of Kix. "Karking _finally_ ," he said gruffly. "Took you long enough to get here."

Kix gave a perfunctory salute and smoothed his face into a neutral expression before removing his helmet. "Medic Kix, reporting."

"Any experience with cybernetics?" Commander Wolffe asked.

"Yes, sir," Kix affirmed. "General Skywalker has a cybernetic arm that he puts through the wringer on a regular basis. I've gotten quite proficient in repairing the systems."

A grunt was his only answer, so Kix busied himself removing his uniform gloves and wrist gauntlets before putting on a pair of medical gloves. "Is your eye a mounted or removable model?"

"Mounted."

"The eye itself, the socket, or both?"

Wolffe paused a moment. "The socket is mounted. The eye can be removed, but it's… unpleasant."

Kix watched the commander for a moment. "Unpleasant for you or unpleasant for me?"

"Unpleasant for everyone."

It wasn't much of an answer, but it didn't really matter; the eye had to come out if Kix was going to reset it. "Unfortunately, sir, I need it removed so I can fix the problem. Can you remove it yourself, or will you need assistance?"

Wolffe's natural eye moved toward Sinker minutely and Kix nodded to himself. "I apologize, Sergeant, but could we have the tent? The process can be extensive and is best done without onlookers."

"Sir?" Sinker asked, watching his commander.

Wolffe gave a single nod and Sinker left the tent, offering only a salute and a curious glance before he was gone.

"Thanks."

"No need to thank me, Commander," Kix said simply. "Any medical procedure tends to go more smoothly when the patient is comfortable. Now, do you need assistance removing your eye?"

"I- don't know," Wolffe admitted. "I've never taken it out before."

Kix winced at that. Surface-implanted cybernetics were supposed to be removed once a week for cleaning. He had only met Wolffe a few times, but Kix knew that the commander had gotten the prosthetic nearly a year before.

"I'll help you, then," Kix said decisively. "Fortunately, the removal is done by aiming the eye upward, so it's already in the correct position. I'm going to talk you through the process as I work, and next time, you'll be able to perform the cleaning yourself."

Commander Wolffe nodded once, grimacing as he did so. Kix felt the same way, but pressed on regardless.

"Mounted-socket cybernetic eyes have a cover with a lens for information intake. I'll remove the plate first, and it's set up to automatically disconnect the mag-link as we pull it away. We'll also remove the internal machinery, which is connected to the socket with another mag-link. When the internal machinery is out, only the permanently-mounted socket will remain. We won't do anything with that. Are you ready?"

Wolffe nodded, setting his jaw so tightly that muscles stood out in his cheeks. Deciding that the best course of action would be to perform his job as quickly and painlessly as possible, Kix set to work.

He held Wolffe's lower eyelid open and inserted a hooked tool into a small divot in the bottom side of the cover. It pulled off with little effort, though Kix waited to feel the mag-link disconnect before he pulled it away entirely. After setting the cover aside, he used the same hook to remove the machinery, setting it aside as well.

Wolffe grimaced again, and Kix fought not to mirror the motion. Even if the commander hadn't told him, Kix would have known that Wolffe had never removed the cybernetic for cleaning. The entirety of the machinery was coated with a thick layer of sludge. The worst part was the smell: a disconcerting combination of infection and burnt oil.

Thankful for the distraction, Kix turned away to submerge the inner mechanisms in a mild saline solution. He sealed the container and shook it sharply, continuing the action until the solution had turned a stomach-turning gray-brown.

After he had fished the small mass of mechanism from the solution, Kix turned his attention to the cover, scrubbing at it with a soft brush and some fresh saline. He fixed a few impossibly tiny screws he could see had loosened and tightened the base of a wire, but there wasn't a lot that needed repairs. Kix was willing to bet that the malfunction had happened purely due to the length of time since the cybernetic had been cleaned.

Finally, he turned back to Wolffe. "I'm going to use this brush to clean the socket," he warned. "You shouldn't feel much of it, but there may be an odd sensation."

When Wolffe gave another nod, Kix used the soft brush and more saline to gently buff the inside of the metal socket. When every trace of the sludge had been removed and the components had all completely dried, he set about reassembling the cybernetic eye.

Other than a bit of trouble connecting the mag-link between the internal components and the lens, there were no problems during the process. Kix watched closely as Wolffe closed the lid of his eye over the replaced lens and opened it again, flicking his gaze around the room. Both eyes moved together and the men breathed sighs of relief.

"Thank you, trooper," Wolffe said, starting to rise from his chair, but Kix stopped him with a hand pressed to the commander's shoulder.

"One moment, Commander," he said sternly. "I need you to understand that your cybernetic was in the worst shape I've ever seen. If it hadn't malfunctioned and you had gone another few weeks without cleaning it, the implant could have shorted out so badly that you would have had to replace the entire thing, including the mounted socket."

"I understand," Wolffe told him, but his tone made it clear that it was a poor attempt at humoring Kix.

"I don't think you do, sir," Kix argued. "Malfunction of a cybernetic eye can happen in many ways. You've just experienced the best possible scenario."

Wolffe grunted. "Tell that to the men who are joking about me as we speak."

"The other ways it could have malfunctioned are by overheating so rapidly and intensely that the cybernetic burnt its way through your skull before you could claw it from your head," Kix said harshly. "Or it could have actually caught fire from the amount of dead skin cells I just removed from every part of it. Spontaneous fire in your eye socket, Commander. And those are just two of the horrifying possibilities. You need to remove the lens and clean it at least once every standard week, sir. No jokes, no exaggerations, no lies. Once a week or it could very well kill you."

"I understand," Wolffe repeated, more forcefully this time. "Dismissed, Kix. Send Sinker back in as you return to the med tent."

Kix saluted sharply. He set about removing the medical gloves, donning his uniform gloves and wrist gauntlets, and attaching his helmet before gathering the tools he had used and packing them up to be disinfected at the medical tent.

He lifted the tent's flap, indicating with a short nod that Sinker could re-enter. As the sergeant passed by, Kix turned. "Oh, and Commander?"

Wolffe glanced up at him warily. Kix couldn't fight the grin on his face as he said, "You should probably roll your eyes less often. Didn't anyone ever tell you that they could get stuck that way?"

Sinker let out a barking laugh as Wolffe began to curse in Mando'a. Dropping the tent's flap, Kix walked back to the medical tent with a bit of a bounce in his step.

* * *

Sanitized Summary \- Wolffe's cybernetic eye gets stuck in an up-facing position when he rolls his eyes. Kix helps him remove the eye, cleans out the gunk between the lens and the socket, and puts everything back. The eye works, but Kix gives Wolffe a stern lecture about taking care of a cybernetic since the possible outcomes of mistreating one are horrific.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who have left kudos or subscribed to this story! Special shoutout to the lovely souls who reviewed last week's chapter: anocrazyadventurer, fingonsradharp, TooBusyWriting, ladytano26, and Leandra_Falconwing.
> 
> Now, let me end this as the longest chapter so far: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving some feedback, and I'll see you next week! If you have any fic requests, I've been filling some of those on Tumblr and it's been so much fun! Find me there under username WanderingInkSplot. Either way, have a great day!


	16. Case 00864: Dogma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter deals with the aftermath of the Umbara arc and touches on shock, PTSD, and related themes. Please skip this chapter if those things make you uncomfortable. (No grossness like the last chapter, though.)

For the first time in his life, Kix stood in the middle of the medbay and felt utterly lost. They had been picked up by the _Resolute_ , pulled from Umbara's surface aboard General Skywalker's favorite ship, the _Twilight_. The medbay was filled with men from the 212th and the 501st alike, men mixed together more completely than they ever had been. They were united in one thing: they were clones.

Nothing else mattered right now, maybe nothing else would ever matter. They had been pitted together, forced to fight to the death against their own brothers, and for what? To help a corrupt Jedi prove that clones were defective? Nothing as petty as the colors painted on their armor could separate the troopers from their _vode_ now.

The medbay was overflowing with troopers and Kix felt helpless. Most of the injuries were minor, easily treated, but the emotional trauma…

Everywhere he looked, Kix found brothers frowning, crying, raging at the injustice of it all, or looking just as lost as he felt. Every bed in the medbay was taken up and troopers still filed in. They leaned against the walls, sat eight to a bed, or just stood in the middle of the floor. Normally, the accepted procedure was to create temporary medbays in the _Resolute_ 's hangers, but Kix refused to do that. The bodies of his fallen brothers filled every hanger, and he would sooner be court-martialed than force injured or emotionally-vulnerable men to stare at the bodies of men who had died in transit.

And it was only those who had died on their way to the _Resolute_ who were being recovered. The men who had fallen on Umbara's surface would be left there, left to become part of the planet's dark soil. The Republic didn't worry about burying the clones. The new teams who arrived to hold the planet would have orders to collect the numbers of fallen troopers. A full casualty report couldn't be made until then.

An envoy of Jedi healers was on the way to meet the _Resolute_ , their needs deemed too severe to wait until they had docked at Coruscant. It was a surprise, but one that Kix wouldn't turn away. It seemed that, despite being seen as expendable by the Republic, there were some Jedi who felt the injustice of what the clones had undergone.

The generals were out and about, as well. General Skywalker had gone to console Captain Rex, who - according to clone gossip - had nearly destroyed his office after returning to the ship. General Kenobi and Commander Tano were circling the medbay comforting troopers. They did their best not to look hurt by the men who flinched away from them. They understood that such recent betrayal by a Jedi meant that they would not easily trust another.

Kix noted that every Jedi he had seen since they left Umbara was not wearing a lightsaber. Even Commander Tano's iconic dual hilts were missing from her crossed belts.

General Kenobi veered closer to Kix as he moved through the crowd and stopped to speak with him. "I offer my most sincere apologies, Kix. Please, if there is anything I can do to help-"

Kix had started shaking his head before the General had fully formed the question. His brothers wouldn't accept help from a Jedi just now, and it would just agitate them further. Between himself and the three medical droids, Kix knew he could keep the men in the medbay alive until the Jedi relief healers arrived. Just then, though, he had bigger concerns. "Are _you_ all right, General?"

Kenobi looked surprised when Kix gestured at his face and raised a hand to touch the wet trails down his cheeks. "Oh. I hadn't… I just- There is a great deal of pain in this room," he finally explained without apology. "I despise seeing the men like this. I would do anything to remove the pain from them."

"You and I both, General," Kix agreed. He tried to move away in an effort to treat more of the men, but General Kenobi caught at his arm. Before he could fight the reaction, Kix gave a noticeable flinch.

With an apologetic grimace, Kenobi dropped his hand and said, "There's one man I worry about more than these. Dogma is in bad shape. I don't feel anything from him at all in the Force. It isn't a good sign. I know you're busy, but..."

"I'll check on him, sir," Kix assured him, moving away with a medic's clipped steps. At the moment, it still felt more fantasy than reality, but the need for a plan had helped him build concentration. The medbay was too full to be effective, and he needed to start moving troopers away from the area.

Kix easily found Fives and Jesse, sitting in silence in the back of the room. Having obviously decided that the beds were too crowded - or needed by other men - they had opted to sit on the floor with their backs firmly braced against the wall. "I need you both to direct some of the men out of here."

Fives shook his head. "You can't expect them to leave. They're scared."

"I know, but I can't save anyone if I can't move in here," Kix argued. "I know we've gone through a horrible tragedy, but I need them to find somewhere else. Take them to one of the barracks. They need space and quiet and sleep, if they can manage it. I'll even get the ship's mess to send food and drinks, but they need to be away from here."

Jesse's lips were pale. "I don't know if we can move them, Kix. I don't think I can do it."

Kix's temper sparked, but he kept his voice calm and supportive as he crouched down in front of the troopers. "You are both leaders in the 501st. Fives, you're an ARC trooper. Jesse, your actions back there have you in line for a promotion, I can guarantee it. The men look up to you. You've taken care of them this whole time and you'll keep taking care of them by making sure they get the food and rest that they need. Give me a second to get Captain Trapper from the 212th and you can start moving men to the barracks. Move them in small groups and make sure one of you stays at the barracks with them so they feel safe."

A few moments later, Kix led Trapper back to the others, having explained the plan to him as well. "Start with the men who seem most at ease. The nervous ones will follow once they see the others leaving. If any of the men start to show signs of illness or trauma, bring them back here and I'll take care of them."

Fives gave a decisive nod. "Right. Let's start with the men we know will come along. Jesse, get Tup, Gurr, and Strike. They're good at explaining things to people. I'll get Appo, Fledge, and Quasi. They can start convincing people to come with us."

Obviously catching on to Fives's plan, Jesse added, "We'll try to get as many men with us as we can on the first trip. That might get some of the nervous ones to follow along eventually."

"I'll get a few steady troopers from the 212th to help out," Captain Trapper agreed. "Kix, we'll take them to D-Barracks. In case anyone needs one of the men, that's where you'll find us."

Kix nodded his appreciation and the men started working. It was a surprisingly quick process. After the initial troopers had been informed of the plan and circulated the room for a few minutes, the first group left, leaving the medbay noticeably more quiet than it had been. It took a total of four trips to convince all the stragglers, but Kix was eventually left with only a few of the most drastically injured men, General Kenobi, and Commander Tano.

"Should we go to D-Barracks, too?" Ahsoka asked.

Kix gritted his teeth. "Sorry, Commander. Most of the men just aren't ready to be around the Jedi yet. They need a place they can see as being safe, a type of haven."

Open hurt flashed across the Togruta's face. "I just want to help."

"I know, sir, and the men know, too. Everything is just a little fresh right now," Kix assured her. "General, have you spoken to Commander Cody yet?"

General Kenobi sighed and tugged mournfully at his beard. "I tried, but I could sense that he didn't want me there. I cannot be upset that he blames me for the 212th's part in this tragedy. I blame myself, too."

"Sir, I have never known a commander to look up to their general more than Cody does to you. He needs some time, but he knows the only one to blame for this mess is Krell." He thought for a moment. "Can you find someone to relieve Admiral Yularen?"

"On the bridge?" Kenobi asked, surprised. "I likely could. May I ask why?"

"He isn't a clone, but he isn't a Jedi. He's a member of the GAR who many of the men look up to. His presence may help them heal. If he's willing, of course."

"Of course," General Kenobi agreed, leaving the medbay at a fast pace.

"Is there anything I can do?" Commander Tano asked.

"Can you order some of the food droids from the mess to deliver supplies to the men?" Kix asked. "They'll need food and water, but hot drinks like caf and tea will help with the shock. Admiral Yularen and the Jedi could help with the delivery side of things. It's a good reason to see and be seen by the men without making them feel invaded by the Jedi."

"I'll do that," Ahsoka told him, spinning decisively on her heel. "Thanks, Kix!"

Before she left the medbay, she paused by the doors to look back at him with her expressive face free of the typical Jedi mask. "I'm glad you're okay, Kix. I really am."

"Me too, Commander," he murmured, but she was long gone.

With a nearly empty medbay, Kix fixed his attention on Dogma. The trooper was huddled in the last bed, his wrists fastened together in front of him in a pair of well-used binders. He stared blankly ahead, giving no reaction even when Kix approached him. His normally intelligent face was slack and his right shoulder gave an occasional twitch.

"Dogma," he said softly. There was no response, and Kix repeated the trooper's name without hope of him answering.

He took a bioscan of Dogma's current state, unsurprised to find that his blood pressure and pulse were high. "Dogma, it's Kix. Can you hear me?"

After a long moment, Dogma repeated tonelessly, "...hear me?"

"Come on, _vod_ ," Kix cajoled. "I need you to come back here. Come back, Dogma. You're here, you're safe."

"...safe," Dogma echoed. His brows crinkled slightly, the minor shift seeming tremendously important with his lack of other response. "Not safe. Never safe."

"You _are_ safe," Kix insisted. "You're safe, Dogma. You've made us all safe. No more Krell. You can come back now."

"Krell…" Dogma's eyes lit with recognition of the name and his entire face crumpled a moment later under the weight of the memories. "I killed him. I killed a Jedi."

"A traitor," Kix said firmly. "He wasn't a Jedi. No Jedi would have done what he did."

"He was a commanding officer," Dogma replied, sounding almost like his regulation-quoting self if not for the thickness in his voice. "I killed a commanding officer. The regs say I'll be court-martialed and found guilty. They'll either execute me or lock me away for the rest of my life. I'm not sure which is worse."

Kix rested a hand on Dogma's shoulder, unable to keep it from tightening as he felt the trembling in his brother's body. "You did what you had to do. Not only for us, but for all of the Republic. Krell was a traitor and he deserved to die. Should have died slower, if you ask me. You were too merciful."

Dogma gave a slight chuckle at that, though there was no joy in his eyes. "That's an interesting take on the situation. I don't think the GAR will follow your logic."

"I'll talk to whoever needs to hear me - anyone who will listen," Kix told him fiercely. "You took out a threat. That's what we're trained to do. You're a hero. You should be given a medal, not face a court-martial."

"Even the other men are avoiding me," Dogma said with a shake of his head.

Kix laughed. "Because you killed that _ori'dush shabuir_? Most of the men want to shake your hand."

Dogma laughed, but the sound quickly turned to stifled sobs and he began to tremble uncontrollably. When Kix was unable to get another response from Dogma and the trooper's blood pressure began soaring to dangerous levels, he administered a mild sedative and waited by the bedside until Dogma's scans showed normal levels once more.

After Dogma fell into a drug-assisted sleep, Kix moved quickly to his desk, opened a link to the holonet, and proceeded to abuse his medical access privileges.

"Kix?" Senator Amidala asked, her confused frown evident even through the unstable connection of the hololink. "Anakin told me what happened on Umbara. I am so sorry-"

"Sorry, ma'am, I don't have much time," Kix interrupted. Thankfully, the senator didn't seem offended. "I have the trooper here who finally put an end to General Krell. He's facing a court-martial and they'll most likely rule against him. I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable position, but is there anything you can do?"

Senator Amidala fell silent, and Kix appreciated that she was taking the time to fully consider his question. "The Senate and the Grand Army of the Republic don't operate jointly, but I think I can find a way to bring this to the Senate's attention since there are clone rights bills on the floor. I will need a few details and I'll warn you that it'll become a publicity circus. Is your trooper all right with that?"

"It's better than death, ma'am," Kix said firmly.

"That is true," she agreed softly. "Send me a file with as much information as you can and I'll put together something. The Senate won't meet tomorrow, but that should give me enough time to get something ready. When will you land on Coruscant?"

"A little less than a standard week from now."

"That should be plenty of time, then."

Senator Amidala's confidence was enough to ease the burden on Kix's shoulders. "Thank you, Senator. I can't tell you what this will mean to Dogma - to all of the men, really."

"It's the right thing to do, Kix," she said, voice filled with conviction. "You and your brothers deserve consideration as thinking beings as well as for the work you do in service of the Republic. We'll give Dogma the best possible chance that we can."

"I couldn't ask for anything more," Kix told her fervently.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will probably be the longest chapter of this story. There was a lot of trauma to deal with here. Though Dogma was the focus of this chapter, all the troopers were impacted by Umbara, and I couldn't ignore the ability to show their pain, too. You decide the adherence to canon in this story, incidentally! If you want to ignore the numbers at the top of the page and believe that this story is in non-chronological order, you can. (That will make more sense later.)
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has supported this story through kudos, bookmarks, subscriptions, etc! Special thanks to those who reviewed: Leandra_Falconwing, fingonsradharp, oversizedboots, Sylvan_Scout, anocrazyadventurer, ladytano26, and Hellothere! You guys are amazing!
> 
> Thank you all for reading, have a wonderful day, and I'll see you next week! Feel free to leave some feedback if you have a moment!


	17. Case 01045: Neeri

Was there any better feeling than being on leave? Kix doubted it, but it would be perfection if he wasn't worried about Dogma. Padmé had managed to gain an incredible amount of support during the week it had taken the _Resolute_ to reach Coruscant, and Kix understood that there were several new bills fighting for clone rights on the Senate floor.

They had landed at GAR headquarters to find a picket line of civilians in full protest mode, complete with holo-boards with slogans compelling the GAR to promote Dogma and ones featuring defaced pictures of Krell. The look of befuddled relief on Dogma's face had been worth the court-martial Kix was preparing himself for. Even if they reconditioned him for it, he couldn't regret doing everything in his power to help his brother.

Kix had marched up to the bewildered General Skywalker, saluted sharply, and submitted himself for punishment as the general saw fit. Skywalker's expression had cleared and he had given the first genuine smile Kix had seen in several weeks. "Kix, go buy yourself something. You deserve it."

The general had shaken Kix's hand, leaving behind a credit chip with almost a full month's pay on it. Kix had tried to protest, but Skywalker shrugged him off and strode into the GAR with a broad grin on his face.

With a shrug and a guilty smile of his own, Kix had left the barracks to meander around Coruscant in his civvies - a nondescript dark jacket and pants with a hat to cover the tattoos on his scalp. He had dinner, bought two boxes of candy (one for himself and one to thank Senator Amidala for her efforts), and still had enough left over to treat the men at 79s the following night when they were all officially on leave.

As he allowed himself to relax, staring up at the bright signs and opulent surroundings of the upper levels, Kix found himself brought abruptly back to sensibility when he heard a pained cry.

He glanced around, finding the source of the sound in only moments: a young S'kytri female appeared to have fallen from where she was walking along a short wall. Her mother was attempting to help her to her feet, but the child was whining piteously at every movement.

Before he knew what he was doing, Kix had approached the pair. The mother, another S'kytri, rose to her full height and spread the wings that had been folded against her back. Kix stepped back slightly. How had he forgotten that the species was so _tall?_ The female in front of him was well over Kix's own six foot height and looked as though she could rip his head from his body without a second of hesitation.

"Who are you?" she asked, voice somewhere between a hiss and a screech.

Kix dropped the bag of candies to hold his hands up, palms out in the universal gesture for 'I mean you no harm'. "I'm a medical trooper in the Grand Army of the Republic, ma'am. I may be able to help. Or I can go get someone else to help your daughter."

"Niiam…" the girl cried softly, clutching at the tip of her mother's wing.

"Shh, my child," the S'kytri female soothed, surveying Kix with golden eyes that seemed to pierce his very soul. "Help my daughter, soldier."

Kix nodded and turned his attention to the young female. She had her mother's coloring - green skin, white hair, and golden eyes - but none of her bearing. Instead of being proud and threatening, she was obviously scared and shy.

With his most non-threatening smile, Kix knelt on the pavement near her. "Hello, there. My name is Kix and I'm going to help you. What's your name?"

"I'm Neeri," the girl sniffled, blinking at him as she edged out from behind her mother's wing. She pointed up at the taller female. "That's my niiam."

"Niiam?" Kix asked, glancing up at the female towering over him.

"Mother. I am her mother," she answered. "My name is Dakpa. If you attempt to harm either of us, it will be the name of the S'kytri who plucks your liver from your body."

"Nice to meet both of you," Kix said dryly, turning his attention back to Neeri. "What hurts?"

"My arm," she answered with a whimper, reminded of the pain.

Kix glanced up at Dakpa. "I don't have a scanner with me and I need to touch her arm. Do I have your permission?"

Dakpa frowned deeply, but gave a short nod. Kix smiled at Neeri again. "I'm going to touch your arm now, okay? If it hurts too badly, let me know and I'll stop."

He sat down on the ground and reached slowly for Neeri's upper arm. Within a few light touches, she cried out and he pulled away again.

"Can you do this for me?" Kix asked, rolling his shoulder forward, then backward. She tried, but stopped after a moment. "How about this?" he asked, flexing his arm at the elbow.

Neeri followed his motions without a struggle and he gave his most encouraging smile. "Great job! Give me just a minute to speak with your niiam, okay?"

Kix stood from the ground and spoke softly to Dakpa. "Neeri's arm is swelling slightly at the site where she said it hurts. Her range of motion isn't as good as it should be, but she could move everything below the elbow without a problem. I think she probably broke a bone in the upper part of her arm. I would advise you to go to the nearest treatment center to have someone set it. I believe there is a center in the political district that specializes in setting hollow bones."

Dakpa inclined her head. "Thank you, soldier Kix. Here are your belongings."

To Kix's surprise, she handed him the bag of candy boxes he had dropped on the ground. "Is it all right if I give her some?"

After a few beats in which she fixed Kix with her piercing stare - as if she were trying to figure him out - Dakpa agreed.

Kix knelt on the ground once more. "Neeri, for being such a good patient, I want you to have a treat. Your niiam said it was okay."

He handed her a few candies from his box. Neeri reached for them with her hurt arm and drew it back immediately with a whimper. Kix nodded. "You hurt your arm, but everything is going to be fine. Your niiam is going to take you to get it fixed. You've been so brave. Can you be brave a little while longer?"

Neeri nodded tearfully and he handed her the candies, taking care to pass them to her uninjured arm. "It was nice to meet you, Neeri and Dakpa," he said with a salute. "Have a good night."

"Wait, soldier," Dakpa said commandingly from behind him and Kix found himself obeying. "Please, accept some credits for helping us."

Kix found himself being passed a handful of credits and did his best to avoid taking any. "No, thank you ma'am. I can't accept that. It was my duty as a medic, though I couldn't do much for either of you."

"Please," Dakpa said, the word seeming unnatural to her. "You have helped us, just as you help your Republic. Accept this with my gratitude."

With a slow nod, Kix found the credits pressed into his hand and stared at them as Dakpa and Neeri walked away toward the political district.

Left alone on the upper levels of Coruscant with a handful of credits and a box and a half of candy, Kix reflected on his job. Yes, he was a clone trooper, created for the sole purpose of serving the Republic, but these were the people he was tasked with protecting. If it meant keeping the ugliness of war away from civilians like Neeri and Dakpa, Kix would gladly give his life for the cause.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know this chapter was a major step down in intensity compared to the last one, but I also think it was needed. Kix gets to have a few moments of happiness, help some civilians, and regain his perspective about why the war is important. It's something that all the troopers need, but very few of them get the chance to have. For those of you who don't like OCs, I apologize. This should be the most OC-centered chapter in this fic. Next week, we return to someone we're all familiar with.
> 
> Thank you to those who have subscribed or left kudos, and special thanks to those who reviewed: Leandra_Falconwing, ladytano26, fingonsradharp, anocrazyadventurer, and missinashkin. You guys are awesome!
> 
> Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next week!


	18. Case 01053: Hardcase

Kix kept a clean medbay. Not only was it a necessity, but he took pride in cleanliness. He tucked starched sheets under the last medbay mattress and took a step back to admire his handiwork.

The beds were neatly made, sheets and blankets folded to crisp GAR standard. Every medical tool had been sanitized and tucked back into its proper place. Kix had even found time to organize his medical cabinet and desk - as long as one ignored the stack of uncompleted paperwork. The floor shone so uniformly that it almost served as a mirror to reflect the perfection of the rest of the empty medbay.

"Hey, Kix!"

Kix's shoulders immediately shot toward his ears as the peace of the medbay was shattered by a too-familiar voice, and the medic immediately started making his way toward his desk by the entrance.

"Hardcase," he groaned on the way, his view of the hapless trooper blocked by one of the privacy curtains separating the beds from the medbay entrance. "If you come in here any more often, I'm going to start charging you rent for a bed."

Hardcase laughed, but the sound ended in a pained wheeze. Kix stepped around a privacy curtain to find that the trooper was being held up by Appo and Fledge, both of whom were trying to support as much of Hardcase's weight as possible. Kix would have to make a full exam to be sure, but it looked like Hardcase was suffering from what was at very least a severely sprained joint in one leg.

"Put him on the bed, men," Kix ordered, motioning toward the first bed in the neat row.

As they did as Kix had said, Hardcase's eyes closed, his tattooed face tense. When Appo accidentally jostled the leg that seemed to be damaged, Hardcase let out a curse so loud that his voice broke before he could finish it.

With a quick scan, Kix found that Hardcase had a broken leg, a sprained elbow, and no fewer than four fractured ribs. Worse of all, one of the fractures had released miniscule bone shards that were perilously close to reaching one of Hardcase's lungs. If a clone's lungs were injured, there was no attempt at healing them. They were marked for immediate transport to Kamino for reconditioning.

After stifling the urge to throw the datapad that showed the results of the scan, Kix snapped, "What the _kriff_ were you doing that caused this many injuries? Of all the _shabiir_ , _or'dinii_ , _jare'la_ things you've done, nothing's _ever_ been this bad-"

"It wasn't his fault!" Fledge argued, flinching back slightly at Kix's glare. "It wasn't, though!"

Kix turned to Appo for confirmation and the trooper nodded. "We were in the gym and Hardcase was working out on the overhead chest press machine when the cords snapped. All the weights tipped the machine over and they fell out onto him."

Kix shook his head and rested a hand on Hardcase's shoulder. "Sorry, _vod_. I'll get you something for the pain before we do anything else."

Hardcase nodded, but didn't say anything. Kix couldn't blame him. Judging from the panting he was doing, he was minutes from vomiting or passing out entirely. Though he was grateful, Kix honestly couldn't believe the trooper had avoided doing either so far.

Considering the pain level he was working with, Kix opted to inject pain meds rather than wait for pills to dissolve and enter the trooper's bloodstream naturally. When Hardcase's breathing had slowed, he relaxed into the bed, eyes fluttering as he struggled to stay awake.

"Let go, _vod_ ," Kix encouraged softly. "I'll take care of everything."

Hardcase nodded again and slipped into something between sleep and unconsciousness.

"What are you going to do?" Fledge asked.

Kix's answer - when it came - was blunt and grim. "There isn't much I can do for him. I'll try using one of the onboard medical droids, but Hardcase might need to visit a hospital on Coruscant."

Appo paled. "Will the Republic pay for him to be treated, or will they just send him back to Kamino?"

"It depends on how much he can heal in that time," Kix answered with a helpless shrug. As the two left the medbay, he could see that they weren't happy with his answer, but Kix was equally unhappy. There was a good reason he didn't use the medical droids that were intended to staff the medbay. Not only did the men respond better to treatment by an organic, but the droids also had a 55% chance of correctly diagnosing and treating a problem. It didn't inspire confidence in anyone, least of all Kix.

He went to the closet that stored the droids and, after the first medical droid had powered up, said, "There's a patient with a broken leg and a sprained elbow. I need you to set the leg and put a wrap on the elbow."

The droid nodded at him and made its slow, plodding way over to the unconscious Hardcase. Kix watched it for a moment, wondering idly why anyone had bothered making a medical droid look so much like an organic when it obviously struggled to move around.

However, he had bigger problems. Kix could loosely bind Hardcase's ribs to help them heal, but the shards were the biggest concern. Even if they didn't continue toward his lungs, they could pose a risk to his heart. Kix was no surgeon and, even if he was, there was danger in performing a surgery on a Republic ship in the middle of the Outer Rim. The 501st was traveling with General Unduli, Commander Offee, and several companies of the 41st Elite Corps, but that didn't make them safe from threats.

Abruptly, Kix had an idea. He left the medical droid treating Hardcase's leg and made his way to Commander Tano's cabin. She opened the door at his knock and stared up at him curiously. "Kix?"

Kix saluted. "Commander Tano. We have a situation in the medbay. Do you know where Commander Offee is?"

"I'm here, trooper," Commander Offee said, stepping up behind Commander Tano.

"What's going on?" Ahsoka asked, retrieving her lightsabers and fastening them to the belts crossed at her hips.

"Medical situation, sir," Kix told her, turning to Commander Offee. "I've seen you Force-heal. Can you do it without supervision?"

"It- it depends on the injury, I think," Commander Offee said slowly.

"I have a trooper with broken ribs and bone chips near one of his lungs," Kix reported. "Could you do anything about that?"

The young Mirialan commander paled to a sickly-looking jade. "Moving solid objects is a challenge. Normally, Force-healing is a gentle internal nudge to speed and guide the body's natural healing processes. Moving bone chips would be dangerous, if not impossible."

Kix pondered that. "Could you build up the cells of the lung to keep it from being penetrated by the shards?"

Commander Offee shook her head slowly. "It would stop the shards from piercing his lung, but it would also put undue stress on it. He would likely find it difficult to breathe and, depending on the severity of the build-up, could cause his body to react in unexpected ways."

There was another thoughtful pause in the conversation until she offered, "Perhaps I could assist while you perform surgery?"

"That's a negative, Commander," Kix refused flatly. "Surgery is too dangerous until we get to the Inner Rim. By then, the Republic may have decided that it's more cost-efficient to replace him."

"Kix!" Commander Tano reprimanded sharply.

Kix shrugged at her. "It's the truth, Commander. The GAR won't put too much money into clone health; we've seen that time and time again."

From Commander Tano's frown, she accepted his explanation but not the practice behind it. "Why don't you just heal the tissue behind the shards and let his body push them back toward his ribs? Then you could fuse them back in and heal his ribs at the same time."

Commander Offee and Kix stared at her in shock until Commander Tano grew visibly uncomfortable. "What?"

"Commander," Kix said slowly, "I could kiss you right now."

"Excuse me?"

Kix turned and saluted in one motion. It had been a good reflex since Captain Rex was walking down the hall toward them, his expression dark.

"Nothing, sir," Kix answered quickly.

"Hey, Rex," Commander Tano greeted cheerfully.

"Commanders, your generals need you on the bridge," Rex told them.

Both Jedi nodded and Commander Tano drew Rex away while Commander Offee murmured, "I'll report to the medbay as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Commander," Kix said fervently.

Rex stayed behind while the young commanders made their way to the bridge. "Trooper, do you have inappropriate feelings for Commander Offee?"

"No, sir," Kix said simply, fighting back a grin.

Rex's face grew, if possible, even more foreboding. "Commander Tano, then?"

This time, Kix chuckled aloud. Ignoring that it was a terrible idea to fall for a Jedi, the entire 501st would cheerfully de-spine the first brother to get inappropriate with Ahsoka. She could take care of herself, but the 501st had seen what General Secura and her men had to put up with and had sworn that no one would speak that way about their commander, not while any of them were around.

Realizing that Rex was still waiting for an answer, Kix said, "No, sir."

Rex relaxed minutely. "I'll be on the bridge, then. How is Hardcase?"

The weight of responsibility crashed back down on the medic's shoulders. "He's out for right now. We'll have to see how well he heals before we get to the Inner Rim."

Rex clapped a hand on Kix's shoulder and left for the bridge.

When Kix got back to the medbay, Hardcase was just beginning to stir.

"Kix?" he asked softly.

Kix was by the bedside immediately. "I'm here, _vod_."

"Are they gonna send me back to Kamino?"

"No," Kix growled, knowing that the ferocity in his voice was too intense for the situation, but unable to help himself. "We'll find a way to fix everything, Hardcase. I promise."

"Good," Hardcase said with satisfaction, closing his eyes again like he didn't have a care in the world. "I want to die in battle."

Kix laughed dryly. "With your grasp of strategy? I'm sure you will."

With a weak, faux-wounded smirk, Hardcase fell asleep once more. Kix stayed until Commander Offee appeared, Commander Tano in tow.

He gave Hardcase a mild sedative so he wouldn't move too much during the efforts to heal his ribs. It was a slow process, one that left Kix feeling frustrated and helpless as Commander Offee strained and sweated to heal the trooper in ways Kix never could.

All of those ugly feelings disappeared when she stepped away and shot him a weary smile. "His ribs are intact. I helped repair some of the minor fractures in his leg and started the recovery in his elbow. I would like to do more, but I must rest first."

"His ribs are completely healed?" Kix checked, and Commander Offee nodded. "Thank you, sir. I can't tell you how much this means to me. To all of us."

"It was a pleasure to be of assistance," she replied gracefully.

She and Commander Tano left the medbay as Kix offered his thanks once more. He was alone with a sleeping Hardcase and a veritable heap of paperwork, but Kix couldn't bring himself to do anything more than sit by Hardcase's bedside, filled with gratitude toward the Jedi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note - So Kix uses a lot of Mando'a when he's mad. Not sure why. Also, I'm not sure when or if I'll ever decide whether Mando'a should be italicized or not, but we're eighteen chapters in, so it is what it is. Also, remember when I said you can decide whether these chapters are in chronological order or not? This is the biggie. If you want to stick with post-Umbara canon, feel free to think of this as a flashback or a misfiled case. If not, feel free to think of this as an AU in which Hardcase survived. Up to you! (Also, I don't work out on machines because I'm worried about stuff like this actually happening, even if that isn't how overhead chest press machines work. Don't judge me.)
> 
> Thanks to those who subscribed or left kudos, and special thanks to those lovely souls who reviewed: Leandra_Falconwing, missinashkin, ladytano26, fingonsradharp, anocrazyadventurer, oversizedboots, LesbianPraetor, spockulative, and Longlivetheclones! 
> 
> Thank you for reading, please leave some feedback if you have a minute, and have a lovely day!


	19. Case 01132: Crosshair

Kix shifted impatiently as he watched the small fleet of ships - smaller than it had been when it left the Republic base - drift gently into the hangar bay. He had gotten a notification from General Kenobi to be on-call. The situation on Anaxes had been resolved with only minor casualties, but it never hurt to be prepared.

When the ships settled to rest on the ground, several men around Kix grumbled that it was a good thing the Bad Batch hadn't been flying. Apparently, they had already earned a reputation for landing with more speed than skill. Their last landing had nearly caused what would have been the single largest loss of Republic troops since Geonosis.

The men began exiting the LAAT/i closest to Kix and he found himself looking at Echo. Kix had thoroughly examined his presumed-dead brother when he returned from Skako Minor. The trooper had been in bad shape, but Kix had to admit that the cybernetic work the Separatists had done was top-notch. Other than malnourishment and some overloaded circuitry - most likely damaged during the rescue - Echo had been in surprisingly good health.

Still, Echo's face was pale and angular, cheekbones jutting out in a way that seemed almost painful. He walked slowly, carefully… It always seemed as though he were waiting for something to take his legs out from under him.

Even as Kix watched, Echo stumbled and was supported by Rex, who had thrown out an arm immediately to catch him.

Kix rushed forward, ignoring the dust thrown into the air by the other LAAT/i ships landing nearby. "What happened?" he asked immediately.

Echo glanced up at him, his light brown eyes looking even lighter in his sallow face, and simply shook his head. Kix's heart sank and he looked sharply to the captain.

"Echo plugged into the Seppie's system and sent them the wrong battle plans before putting a surge through to disable their clankers," Rex explained heavily. "It worked perfectly, but they isolated the signal and sent a surge back. It gave him a pretty good shock."

Kix grimaced. "Let's get you to the hangar medbay, Echo. I'll need to do a full diagnostic check."

"Aw, leave him alone," Wrecker grumbled from behind them. "He's awake now, isn't he?"

"It knocked you unconscious?" Kix asked immediately.

"Yeah," Echo admitted lowly.

After making sure that Rex had a good hold on his injured brother, Kix turned to look at the Bad Batch. "Unconsciousness is always something to worry about. I'll need to do a full scan to make sure everything is okay. The three of you should come in for checks as well."

"Er… don't you mean four?" Hunter asked slowly, staring around at the other men of Clone Force 99.

"No, I don't. Three of you have a choice, but I see Crosshair's injury no matter how well he thinks he's hiding it. Follow us to the medbay, trooper."

"I'll be fine," Crosshair snarked.

"That's the spirit," Kix encouraged, even as he turned his attention back to helping Echo. "I'm an excellent medic and I can treat whatever injury you sustained. You certainly will be fine."

"I get the sense that you didn't make any friends there, Kix," Rex warned lowly, following Kix into the building.

"I'm a medic, sir," Kix reminded. "My business is caring for the men's health, not being their favorite person."

As they walked toward the hangar, Kix could hear a soft argument break out between Hunter and Crosshair, but Rex, Echo, and Kix had only just stepped into the medbay when the sniper slouched in behind them.

Scanning them was a moment's work. Rex was in perfect health other than a touch of fatigue and was immediately discharged from the medbay. Echo's nervous system showed signs of stress and there were minor burns on the segment of his arm that was connected to the data probe that had received the shock. Kix bandaged the burns and administered a mild set of pain meds before settling him into a bed. Finally, he moved his attention to Crosshair.

The serious trooper hadn't removed a single piece of his armor, but Kix didn't bother asking. Instead, he turned the power up on the scanner and scanned Crosshair's body from head to feet and back up. He ran the scanner carefully over the sniper's right elbow, where he had first seen the signs of an injury.

"You have a blaster wound piercing your anconeus muscle," Kix revealed.

"And here I thought I was just outgrowing my armor," Crosshair said dryly.

Kix surveyed the sniper without commenting, but he knew the message came through clearly enough: Crosshair had a slight build for a trooper. The idea of him outgrowing his armor in any capacity was laughable.

As Crosshair watched Kix's unspoken insult, his jaw tightened until Kix worried he would have to pull the splinters of the brother's toothpick from his mouth. To stop the unnecessary theatrics, Kix said, "As a sniper, you know that your anconeus is pretty important to the shooting process. Are you going to let me treat it?"

Crosshair blinked in surprise, but tried to hide the reaction. "Are you saying you're gonna give me a choice?"

"I don't like forcing my brothers into treatment," Kix said evasively.

Seeming to realize that it wasn't an answer, Crosshair narrowed his eyes, but gave a single nod.

"Good," Kix said. "Remove your shoulder armor and both sets of arm plates, then sit down. I'll be back with the necessary supplies."

It took a little bit longer to find what he needed in the unfamiliar medbay, but Kix managed, passing by a now-sleeping Echo to get to where Crosshair waited in uncomfortable silence.

In the time it took Kix to cleanse the wound, use an internal variation of bacta gel, and start applying bacta patches to the entry and exit points of the injury, Crosshair still hadn't spoken. Working as closely as he was, Kix could feel the tension radiating from the trooper.

"I'm almost done here, then I'll issue you some pain meds and we'll get you settled in for the night," he said, more to break the silence than anything else.

Crosshair snorted. "I'm not staying here tonight."

"You certainly are," Kix replied blandly. "I'll need to observe your wound to make sure it's healing properly. Don't think I didn't notice the elevated pulse and blood pressure, either. I have to be certain that's normal."

"We don't like medical centers... or medics," Crosshair said gruffly.

"I'm sorry, but the regulations are cle-" he cut himself off as Crosshair made a rude noise. He didn't know much about the Bad Batch, but most of the troopers hadn't enjoyed their time in medbays on Kamino, and Kix was no fool. There was probably a very good reason for Crosshair's venom.

With that in mind, Kix dropped his professionalism down a notch in order to level with the trooper: "Listen, I can't let you leave knowing that something could go wrong and you could lose the arm or die because I wasn't there to notice when things started going south. You'll stay here tonight with Echo. Spend the time cursing my name if it makes you feel better, as long as you're doing it here."

Crosshair snarled and opened his mouth to say something Kix was sure would be rude, but he was interrupted by the medbay doors opening. Hunter stepped through, followed by Tech and the hulking Wrecker.

"Gentlemen," Kix greeted politely, gathering the medical flotsam that tended to collect when an injury was being treated.

"Kix," Hunter returned. "We thought about your offer and we're here for scans."

"Good. Give me just a moment and I'll get the three of you scanned," Kix said, shooting Crosshair a firm look. "Pick a bed, trooper."

After disposing of the mess, Kix scanned the three remaining members of Clone Force 99, finding nothing worse than light fatigue, mild dehydration, and a single pulled muscle in Hunter's leg. True to Crosshair's word, all of them showed signs of stress and tension, likely from being in the medbay. Kix ignored that and focused on the treatable things.

He administered a pain patch for the pulled muscle and advised all of them to drink some water and get a good night of sleep.

"There is no need to pull watch duty while you're on-planet," Kix told them. "The regular troopers stationed here have a rotational system, so there's always a guard monitoring the perimeter. All of you should sleep as long as possible."

"Do you need us to stay here tonight?" Wrecker asked, glancing around uncertainly.

"It could be a medical necessity," Tech volunteered, watching Crosshair even as the tattooed trooper avoided his eyes.

Kix had a refusal ready to go, but paused at the last moment. " _We don't like medical centers… or medics,"_ Crosshair had said. If the others were volunteering to stay, it could be that they didn't want to leave their teammate here alone.

"Hmm… I think it would be for the best," Kix lied. "I need to monitor your fluid intake and I can make sure no one disturbs you while you rest. Best settle in for the night, _vode_."

Tech and Wrecker moved toward the beds, settling into ones on either side of the wounded troopers. Tech was rattling off factoids about bacterial growth all the while and Wrecker was crowing about winning some kind of bet against Crosshair.

Before he left the area, Kix caught sight of Hunter. The sergeant gave a deep nod of thanks - a gesture Kix returned before moving to the small desk at the front of the medbay, ready to keep watch as long as his brothers needed if it meant they felt safe enough to rest and heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience while I dealt with some personal situations over the last few days!
> 
> Shout out to those who reviewed last week's chapter: Leandra_Falconwing, missinashkin, ladytano26, fingonsradharp, anocrazyadventurer, LesbianPraetor, spockulative, and MageOfCole. You guys are awesome!
> 
> Thank you for reading, have a great day, and I'll see you next week!


	20. Case 01187: Lux Bonteri

"...and if you roll them at the right speed, they'll slip through the shields and explode next to the droid itself, disabling the guns and allowing you to pass," General Skywalker finished, glancing around the group of rebels to check for their understanding.

Kix eyed the assorted group as well. When he had been tapped to join the Jedi and the captain on a trip to help an underground resistance movement train to fight the Separatists, he hadn't been impressed at the idea. After finding out that one of the leaders - a kid named Bonteri - had a past with Commander Tano, he was even less thrilled to be there.

Admittedly, he had been surprised by the group. The fighters were minimally trained, but in decent shape, medically-speaking. Kix had expected to find festering injuries and critical malnourishment. Instead, he found mild dehydration and an honest, stars-blessed splinter.

A _splinter_.

This resistance group may have been better-organized than others the 501st had run into in the past, but they weren't exactly what Kix would have expected from a rough-and-tumble encampment in the woods.

Saw Gerrera would be trouble. Kix had known it the first time he interacted with the young man, and he could tell that Rex thought the same. Saw was passionate and angry, traits that would not help him against the Seppies. In fact, they were more likely to get him killed, along with every other member of the encampment… including Saw's sister Steela.

In contrast, Steela Gerrera was promising. She was a perfect counterpart to her emotion-driven brother and would make a good leader for the small group - a larger group, even, later on. She was level-headed and practical, eager to learn and wise beyond her years. Kix and Rex had both been impressed by the young woman, as had the Jedi. Well, two of the Jedi. The final member of their party had been too busy worrying about Steela's major weakness.

Lux Bonteri.

Kix didn't get it. He was no expert in what teenage girls found attractive, but it seemed like a bit much for both Steela Gerrera and Commander Tano to be fascinated by the boy. Admittedly, it seemed like the attention was almost a bit much for Lux, too. Still, he appeared to enjoy the idea that two females were so interested in him and did what he could to juggle their feelings. One minute, he would flirt shamelessly with Steela, who seemed to welcome his efforts. The next, however, he would stand far too close to Commander Tano and murmur things that her sensitive montrals could easily have heard from a far greater distance. The boy was honestly lucky that some of the more... _overprotective_ members of the 501st had not come along to Onderon, or Kix would have had some real injuries to treat.

Despite his own confusion and disgust, the situation was entertaining enough, though Kix was at least tactful enough to avoid talking about it around the Commander. She seemed displeased by the way things were going and he couldn't blame her. He was displeased, too. Kix was of the opinion that the GAR and three of its best Jedi had more important things to do than babysit a fledgling grassroots rebellion, and a teenage love triangle did nothing to improve the situation.

"Ouch!"

It was the call to action for medics everywhere, and Kix was no exception. In a moment, he had grabbed his medic's bag and went to find the source of the pained sound. It turned out to be none other than Lux Bonteri, who had managed to deeply scratch his forearm while trying to roll a dummy det through the droideka's shield.

The kid had pressed a hand against the scratch, holding back the blood that was trying to seep from the small wound. Other members of the rebel band clustered around, asking nonsensical questions and generally being in the way. Steela and Commander Tano seemed the most concerned, but Kix definitely saw General Skywalker roll his eyes.

"All right, folks, please move so I can treat him," Kix said impatiently.

"Will he be okay?" Steela asked.

Kix snorted. "He has a scratch on the arm. Yeah, he'll be good to go in about three minutes, if you can clear the crowd."

Steela nodded, raising her voice. "Back to training, everyone! Lux is going to be fine."

With a jerk of his head, Kix indicated for Lux to follow him to a more secluded area, a short distance away from the crowd. From what he had seen so far, the small group of rebels needed all the practice they could manage. Bonteri followed willingly enough, sitting on a fallen tree trunk and extending the arm so that Kix could clearly see the injury.

It was a long cut, deeper than Kix would have expected, but still nowhere close to anything vital. The real danger was infection, especially in a forest, running around in unsanitary conditions, and this far from medical care. It would have to be cleaned, medication applied, and the wound wrapped before Bonteri could keep training with the other members of the rebel force.

"Don't worry, kid," he soothed automatically. "We'll have you patched up and back in action in no time."

"I'm not a kid," Lux told him haughtily. When Kix didn't bother responding, he sighed. "Do you think Ahsoka saw that?"

"I'm sure she did," Kix said evenly. "She was standing a foot and a half away from you and has full use of her sight."

Lux groaned. "Fantastic."

Kix shook his head, mostly to hide a smirk. "What does it matter what Commander Tano saw or didn't see?"

"Please," Lux scoffed. "You have full use of your sight too, correct?"

"I don't know what you're implying, Bonteri," Kix said, not liking the boy's tone. Before Bonteri could unleash another half-insulting comment, Kix added sharply, "And if you're saying what I think you are, I'll remind you that she's my commanding officer and I have no problem letting this scrape heal the old-fashioned way."

"It's just…" Lux trailed off, suddenly looking younger than ever. "She's so beautiful, and strong, and brave. I want her to think well of me."

"I'm sure she does," Kix said, trying to sound encouraging. Kriff, he didn't remember being this young.

"She doesn't think well enough to care for me," Lux said, reminding Kix of a pouting child. "Not the way I do for her."

Kix laughed before he could stop himself. "She's a Jedi. She took vows not to _care_ for anyone, not the way you're talking about."

"And I took vows to uphold the Separatist cause," Lux countered. "I left them behind after I learned new information."

This time, Kix laughed on purpose. "You think attraction is new information? Kid, sex has been around longer than any of us. That's why we _are_ around - at least, those of us who weren't born in a tube."

Lux didn't find that nearly as funny as Kix did, so the medic filed it away as something he should tell his _vode_ and moved on. "Ahsoka knew attraction and temptation would be part of her life, but she thinks the good she does as a Jedi is more important than her own feelings."

"Has she spoken with you about this?" Lux asked, looking floored by the possibility that Commander Tano wouldn't change the entire course of her life for sake of a crush.

Kix sighed. He definitely had never been this young. "No, but she doesn't have to. You can see her dedication in everything she does."

"You can," Lux agreed, looking past Kix with a slight smile on his face. Kix turned to see Commander Tano juggling a handful of dummy thermal dets to amuse Saw, using the Force to launch them high into the air before letting them drop into her waiting hands. General Skywalker and Captain Rex watched the process with patronizing amusement while General Kenobi was thankfully occupied in another section of the camp. Kix was only surprised that General Skywalker wasn't taking part in the theatrics.

"I've heard Jedi can have physical relationships," Lux said slowly. "They just can't get attached."

"Done a lot of research into Jedi relationships, have you?" Kix asked acidly, then shook his head. "I'm not about to tell you - _or_ my commanding officer - what you can and can't do, but Commander Tano isn't the type who can easily separate emotions from actions. By pushing this - by pushing _her_ \- all you're doing is making her choices more difficult. Remember that when you decide how to act with her from here on out."

"I understand," Lux agreed. From the solemn look in his eyes, Kix actually believed that he did.

"Good," he said with a sharp nod, patting the neatly-wrapped bandage on Lux's forearm. "You're good to go. Keep it clean and dry as long as you can manage. With any luck, I think you'll be able to keep the arm."

"Thank you, Kix," Lux said, giving a deep nod. "For all of it."

"No problem, kid. Try putting a bit of spin on the thermal det next time. That can help it get through the rollie's shields."

Bonteri walked back toward the group as Kix packed the unused supplies back up so he could be ready for the next medical crisis. There would definitely be one before they left, especially if the captain or either of the generals had heard much of the conversation between Kix and his patient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, a chapter actually published on time! This is more canon-divergent than most of the other things in this story. We all know that the Onderon arc only featured Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Rex, but I think Kix would have been a good addition to the group. Not only could he have checked on the health of the rebels, but he could have taught a few of them how to do basic first aid in case they needed a medic after the Jedi left. But that's just me! 
> 
> Thank you to those who subscribed or left kudos on this work! As always, special thanks to those who reviewed: Leandra_Falconwing, ladytano26, LesbianPraetor, fingonsradharp, MageOfCole, and anocrazyadventurer. You are all amazing, patient people and I appreciate you!
> 
> Thank you for reading, feel free to leave a comment, and have a great day! I'll see you next week!


	21. Case 01245: Commander Bly

"Hold still, _vod_ ," Kix reminded gently. "The scanner can't get an accurate reading if you keep moving."

"Yes, sir," Commander Bly agreed, obediently fighting to keep still.

Kix refrained from reminding the commander that he in fact outranked Kix - and by quite a large margin. Bly was struggling enough as it was. He had been standing far too close to an explosive blast, and the burns covering the left side of his face and body were clear. The fire had melted large sections of his plastoid armor, adding to the damage.

Continuing to wear what remained of the armor had to be uncomfortable, but Kix had to complete a full scan before he could allow the commander to remove the outer layer. There was a possibility that some of Bly's skin had melted to the inside of the plastoid and he simply didn't feel it due to shock.

Finally, the scanner beeped to tell Kix that it had completed a full scan with no motion interference. Bly was lucky; there was no connection between his skin and the rest of his armor. Kix quickly informed the commander of this and they both worked to remove the plastoid from his singed body glove.

When Bly was free, his hand moved as though he planned on exploring the damage done to the left half of his face, but Kix stopped him with an extended hand and sharp shake of his head. "You won't want to do that, commander. Burns hurt worse than anything. You're in shock right now, but it won't last forever. The sooner you start feeling it, the more painful the treatment will be."

"I understand, Kix," Bly agreed softly, dropping his hand immediately.

"Let me do one final scan, then I'll start mixing a bacta spray," Kix told him, readying the scanner once more. "If we're lucky, we can get your treatment well underway by the time the pain really kicks in."

"Don't you mean ' _Kix_ in'?" Bly asked, quirking a brow. Unfortunately, it was his left eyebrow and he hissed slightly at the new and painful sensation.

"I hope that was worth it, Commander," Kix told him dryly.

"It wasn't my best joke, but hey, laugh or cry, right?" Bly shrugged - carefully using his right shoulder this time. He fell silent again, watching Kix configure the scanner. "Can I ask why you need to do another scan?"

Kix eyed Bly for a moment, but saw no signs of impatience or mockery on the commander's face. "Scanners can work through plastoid, but the signal gets significantly weaker. That's fine if you're checking for surface-level injuries, but if you want to look deeper, you need to get under the armor. Now that we've removed the plastoid from this equation, this scan will show the full extent of the burns."

He began scanning as he finished his explanation, but the medbay door whipped open before the short process had ended. "Commander, how are you?"

Kix was tempted to turn so he could see the new arrival to the medbay with his own eyes, but the accented voice made Bly's spine straighten and his blood pressure ratchet up a few levels, so the medic knew who it was. General Secura had that effect on many a trooper.

Still, Kix always took care of his _vode_ , so Kix silenced the scanner's alarm before it could play an audible arrhythmia warning. It was no business of the general's if her arrival had made Bly's heart literally skip a beat.

"I'm fine, General," Bly answered his commanding officer, voice steady.

It was an impressive show. Bly's feelings for his beautiful general were the worst-kept secret in the GAR… which was saying something. Still, his eyes were clear and his face serene, even as Kix watched his heart rate increase. As if he heard Kix's silent admiration, Bly's gaze slid to the scanner still held in Kix's hand and the medic hurriedly put it away. He had the information he needed, anyway.

Kix cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the general and the commander. "The burns don't appear to be deep. Commander Bly was lucky that he had his face turned away from the blast." He turned to address Bly directly. "The plastoid of your armor protected your body from the worst of the burns, but there will be some scarring on your neck and left hand."

Bly shrugged at that, but General Secura looked unhappy. "Is there nothing you can do to heal him completely? I could arrange transport to a medstation. Maybe some time spent in a bacta tank…"

Fighting not to furrow his eyebrows, Kix shook his head. "Not necessary, General. I'll make a bacta spray to help the healing process, apply some burn gel to pull the heat away, and administer some pain meds for the discomfort. Commander Bly will be all healed up in a few weeks."

As he went to assemble the components for a bacta spray, Kix smirked to himself. A kriffing bacta tank? Troopers went in bacta tanks for missing limbs, shattered skulls, comas… Putting the commander in one for a few mild burns would be insane. Kix's motions slowed as he heard the quiet conversation taking place behind him.

"I have no skill for Force-healing," General Secura admitted, sounding unreasonably guilty about that fact.

"What are a few more scars?" Bly answered flippantly but his voice grew more serious as he added. "General, I don't care what I look like. What matters is that I can fight for the Republic. The best way to do that is to keep you safe."

Secura seemed to let out a sigh. "You were hurt protecting me- Protecting the Republic's interests, that is. I do not like knowing that you'll be scarred as a thanks for your efforts."

"I would gladly carry a few more marks if it means that you're alive, General," Bly said, tone genuine. Kix winced, thinking that he was cutting it a bit close to admitting having non-regulation feelings for a commanding officer. Bly seemed to feel the same, however, since he added, "Besides, scars will just make my tattoos stand out even more."

"Ah, how could I forget the importance of your tattoos?" the general teased. "No one should go without seeing them."

"Well, we'll try to minimize the scarring anyway," Kix told them both as he came back with the freshly-mixed bacta spray. He talked Bly through the process as he gently cleaned the burns, applied the bacta spray, and misted the burn gel from a special aerosol dispenser. He passed Bly some of his strongest pain meds. Kix could tell that the pain was finally beginning to reach the commander and wanted to stop it as soon as possible now that the treatment was working.

"Now, I don't want you reaching around yourself to apply the spray," Kix said, finishing his explanation. "You wouldn't be able to get the right angle and distance, and it would stretch the burned skin more than we want. Take the spray and the dispenser with you and I'll transmit the instructions to the 327th's medic. Limit is still your main medic, right?"

"Yes, he is, but I would like a copy of those instructions as well, Kix," General Secura told him and turned to speak directly to Bly. Taking the hint, Kix moved a few steps away to give them a semblance of privacy - even if he could still see both medbay occupants and hear their conversation clearly. "If Limit is ever busy, comm me and I'll apply the treatments myself."

Bly shifted in the chair. "General, you've got more important things-"

"Hush, Bly," the general told him, lifting a hand to brush her fingertips over the tattoo on Bly's uninjured cheek. "There is nothing more important than supporting my men, especially the commander who kept me from being blown up today."

Obviously fighting a blush, Bly gave a single sharp nod.

Kix cleared his throat. "Feel free to make your way back to the _Liberty_ when you feel able, Bly. General."

The two left the medbay, walking closer together than Kix thought was wise, considering the commander's injuries. When the room was silent once more, Kix pulled out a new patient treatment form and stared at it for a long moment.

Everyone in the GAR knew that Commander Bly had a weakness for his Twi'lek general. It was far from uncommon; the level of attention that Aayla Secura attracted from her appearance, strength, and grace made most of the 327th uncomfortable and ready to fight on a regular basis. However, none of the intel Kix had heard - and he had heard a _lot,_ considering how chatty most brothers were - had suggested that the general felt similarly about her commander. Jedi weren't supposed to be attached, after all.

And yet…

Kix's mind played back the sight of General Secura brushing a delicate hand over Bly's cheek, putting the moment in an infinite loop. Even if she didn't harbor un-Jedi-like feelings for Commander Bly, there was certainly enough room for doubt that Kix could sympathize about how Bly may have gotten confused.

But General Secura had wanted to put Bly in a _bacta tank_. For mild, superficial burns, no less. And the warmth in her voice when she had volunteered to personally help with Bly's treatment…

Kix shook his head, feeling more confused than he had been since his first day of flash training. However, if there was one constant in his life, it was that paperwork needed to be filed. Kix turned his attention back to the medical form in front of him, checking the 'General Present' box and moving on to his other duties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I've said before, I've had a loose order in mind for these chapters for a few months. I certainly didn't intend for this chapter to be posted so close to Valentine's Day, but it kind of worked out. Bly and Aayla Secura are so cute! We're just going to ignore canon entirely and say that they lived happily ever after because of course they did. There's no other option. 
> 
> Thank you to those who left kudos or bookmarked this story in the last week! Special thanks to last week's reviewers: Leandra_Falconwing, fingonsradharp, MageOfCole, ladytano26, Melwa_Rat, and anocrazyadventurer. You are all amazing, intelligent, and attractive people.
> 
> Thank you all for reading and have a great day! I'll see you next week!


	22. Case 01338: Kix

They always say that medics make the worst patients, and it was doubly true in Kix's case. If he wasn't working in the medbay, all medical care was left to the droids, and their programming left a lot to be desired. At least the men had Kix to treat them. Kix had no organic to treat him if he was the one sick.

At the moment, he was fairly certain he wasn't sick. Sure, his head ached so badly that his stomach threatened to rebel and it hurt to move any part of his body, but that could be explained by any number of ailments. Maybe it had always hurt to swallow, breathe, and blink, and he just hadn't noticed.

On the off chance that he wasn't as well as he thought, Kix had been working to stave off any illness floating around the _Resolute_. He took in extra liquids and got as much sleep as possible. Since he practically lived in the medbay, sleep was a challenge, but he was trying.

Kix pulled his head up from the surface of his desk, groaning as he did so. The shift in position made his head throb worse than before, but that wasn't why he was cursing. When had he fallen asleep? He was less than halfway through the ever-present stack of medical forms taking up half of his desk, and with no troopers in the medbay, he needed to do as much work as possible before the next crisis hit.

"That didn't sound very rested," a voice remarked from closer than Kix was comfortable with.

He turned quickly, took a moment to huff out a breath and clutch at his head, and stared into Rex's amused eyes. "Captain. When did you get here?"

"About ten minutes ago. I watched you fall asleep on your forms."

"Did you need something, sir?" Kix asked, wincing. Why were the medbay lights so _bright?_ "Is everything all right?"

"Actually, no," Rex told him. "I have a sick trooper who won't accept medical treatment."

"I'll set him straight," Kix promised grimly. "Who is it?"

"You, obviously," Rex said, the amusement on his face now tinged with concern. "Kix, you're dead on your feet."

"I'm fine, sir."

"Then you won't mind if we power up one of the medical droids to double-check that?"

Kix grimaced. "You want to use one of those _shu_ - _shuk_ machines? They have a success rate of-"

"-55%" Rex finished with him. "I know, Kix, you've told us all. But you're the only medic we've got, and you're clearly not going to treat yourself. The medical droids are the only option. Consider it an order."

"Sorry, sir," Kix reminded. "I have authority on all matters of health. Yours, the men's, and mine. I outrank you in this."

"In this," Rex echoed, frowning forebodingly. "Fifteen push-ups, soldier. That's an order that has nothing to do with medicine."

"Captain-"

"I'm serious, Kix. Fifteen push-ups and I'll drop the medical droid stuff."

"Get ready to lose, Captain," Kix said with a grin. Rex returned the expression, but there was worry on his face.

_Five down. This is gonna be so easy…_

_Eight in and I feel fine. I knew I wasn't sick._

_Okay, Kix. You need to spend a little more time in the gym. You shouldn't be this winded after eleven push-ups._

_...Why is my face so cold?_

"Welcome back," Rex said blandly as Kix tried to raise himself from where he had collapsed on the floor. His arms wouldn't support the weight and he rolled onto his back instead.

"How many did I get to?"

"Thirteen," Rex told him. "Not bad. I thought you would pass out by six or seven."

"I didn't pass out," Kix argued.

"Of course not. I know how much you love lying down with your face pressed against the medbay floor," Rex agreed dryly. "I took the opportunity to power up a med droid. Pick a bed."

Kix glared, but Rex unsympathetically propelled him toward a bed as soon as he was standing. Before he could voice any further complaints, Kix found himself on a bed being scanned by a med droid.

"CT-6116 is showing symptoms of an acute infection in both the sinuses and the upper respiratory tract. This has resulted in secondary symptoms as headache, difficulty breathing, dehydration, fatigue, dizziness, and muscle aches."

Kix glared at the medical droid, mostly to avoid the way Captain Rex was glaring at _him._ "So, with the typical droid success rate, we can safely rule out those two diagnoses."

"Karking hell, Kix!" Rex hissed in irritation. He took the scanner from the droid and rescanned Kix, passing over his body about four times too many. When he was finally done, he glanced at the screen. "Sinus infection and upper respiratory tract infection. Treat him."

The last bit was directed at the droid, who rummaged around in the med cabinet. Kix gritted his teeth as its rough-jointed metal hands knocked around, systematically destroying all of the organization he had managed in that small space.

"Why did you wait this long, Kix?" Rex asked sharply. "You're a medic. Surely, you've known for a while that you needed treatment."

"If a medic is currently undergoing treatment, he cannot continue to treat others," Kix explained reluctantly. "The risks of accidental malpractice are too high with the side effects of many medications."

Rex stared at him, dark brows furrowed. "The side effects are too much of a risk, but operating with a temperature that is _well_ over standard isn't considered dangerous?"

"It is… or it probably should be," Kix admitted. "But it isn't written that way in the regs, so it isn't an explicit requirement."

Rex frowned even harder. "So… it's a loophole."

"Yes, exactly."

With a sigh, Rex scrubbed his hand over his close-cropped blond hair and collapsed onto Kix's well-worn chair, obviously pulled over from behind the medic's desk. "Do you realize the consequences of the choices you're making?"

Acutely uncomfortable with the knowledge that he had experienced this conversation from the other side far too many times to count - including with the captain himself - Kix shrugged. His answer didn't seem to be enough for the captain, who sat watching him for the (frankly ridiculous) length of time it took for the med droid to give him a dose of antibiotics and a cup of water.

"I know it may come as a surprise to you, but I do monitor the medbay logs," Rex finally said when the droid puttered off to fetch an antibiotic spray for Kix to inhale. "Do you know how much time you spend here?"

"I'm here every day, sir," Kix answered honestly, giving into the realization that Rex wasn't going to let it go.

"Yes, for three-quarters of the day. That gives you a collective five or six hours to shower, eat, and sleep. Judging from those push-ups, you don't spend any of that time training." Kix felt his face flush before he could stop it, but Rex wasn't done. "To put it another way, you've logged almost six-hundred hours in the medbay over the last standard month. That's a little over twenty-three full days out of thirty."

"When I'm not here, sir… men die. Brothers." Kix's voice cracked a little at the admission, but he kept his gaze firmly fixed on Rex, refusing to look away. Caring for his brothers was not a weakness and he wasn't ashamed of it.

The harsh expression on Rex's face softened into something like understanding, but his famously steely resolve didn't fade. "I'm tired, Kix. I'm so tired of watching my men - my _brothers_ \- die. I'll be damned if I watch you work yourself to death trying to keep others alive. You have to take care of yourself so that you can keep everyone else safe as long as possible."

He sat back in the chair, running a hand over his jaw as he thought. "Your medic's proficiencies can be pulled. You know as well as I do that the regs say I'm supposed to pull them for the first infraction. I don't want to do that, but I will if I don't see you taking better care of yourself. I won't have another one of these conversations, Kix. Is that understood?"

"Understood, sir," Kix agreed quickly, heart in his throat. So much of his identity was tied up in being a medic… he wasn't sure what he would do if his status was pulled from him.

Rex nodded at that and moved to leave the medbay, but Kix had one more thing to say: "I'm sorry, Captain."

"You will be," Rex said solemnly, the effect made more chilling by the bright smile that flashed across his face in the next moment. "I'm not going to stop any of the men from coming to visit you. That's the worst punishment I can think of."

Kix laughed uncertainly at the threat, but didn't understand it until an hour or so later, when the medbay doors opened to admit a mass of grinning troopers.

"Hey, Kix!" Hardcase greeted, far too loudly.

Commander Tano's grin was nothing short of evil. "We heard you weren't feeling well."

"Not only that," Jesse added with a smirk. "We heard you didn't accept treatment until you collapsed in front of Captain Rex!"

Tup schooled his face into a mock-serious expression. "It's dangerous to take risks with your health like that."

Kix took a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring at the medbay ceiling and cursing Rex internally. The captain was a cruel, cruel man…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is! I know that quite a few of you have mentioned a Kix-based chapter in your comments and this has been an idea from the beginning - trust me. Kix truly is the worst possible patient, but he needed a bit of his own medicine (ba-dum tss)! Sorry for the bit of Rex angst here, but in my mind, this is toward the end of the war, and everyone is getting mentally and emotionally tired. They made a point of mentioning it in the last season of the Clone Wars: sometimes, it's hard to be the one who survives. Also, on a lighter note, how long do you think Rex was working on that medical outranking work-around? My guess is since the time Kix made him stay in the medbay overnight!
> 
> As usual, thank you to those who gave kudos to this story, subscribed, or added bookmarks! I get a little thrill every time I see those numbers increase. Special thanks to my reviewers for last week's chapter: MageOfCole, fingonsradharp, ladytano26, missinashkin, oversizedboots, Leandra_Falconwing, and anocrazyadventurer. The encouragement you all offer is the best part of my week and I am forever grateful!
> 
> Thank you all for reading! Please feel free to comment and tell me what you thought and have a beautiful day! Though how could you not, knowing that the Bad Batch show premieres on May 4th and that a remastered Republic Commando is being released on April 6th?! It's a great time to be alive! I'll see you all next week!


	23. Case 01386: Gregor

The commando standing in front of him was a miracle… At least, the closest thing the GAR had to one. CC-5576-39 - or Gregor, as he was known by the men - had been MIA for years. Then, he had been presumed KIA after he caused a series of explosions to distract a Seppie army while a group of droids escaped the distant planet they had all been stuck on.

Sometimes, Kix felt like he was really missing out on the action by being a medic.

The scanner in his hand beeped, indicating that it had finished, and Kix grimaced as he read over the results. Maybe he didn't mind missing out on commando-level action after all.

"Your body is in starvation mode," Kix told Gregor slowly. "You didn't have much to eat while you were stuck on Abafar, did you?"

"No, sir," Gregor admitted softly. "Borkus said I was a burden as it was, that he couldn't afford to keep feeding some human who ate like he was going to starve. He said I had to cut down on how much food I eat in a day."

"Well, for a normal human, that may be true," Kix told him. "But since the Kaminoans engineered us to have a faster metabolism than the nat-borns, we need to consume more calories in a day just to stay healthy."

"So, I'm not healthy?" Gregor frowned, staring down at his hands like he expected them to have wasted away to bones while Kix spoke. "I feel healthy."

"You aren't dying, if that's what you're asking, but we need to make some changes if we want to keep it that way," Kix warned.

"Won't I just be a little more… uhh- slender?"

"No. Not eating enough can lead to a number of problems, mostly with metabolism, but with other parts of the body as well," Kix told him, automatically slipping into lecture mode. "It can also cause diabetes, negatively affect your muscle mass, and even affect the density and porosity of your bones if left untreated for a long enough period of time. After that, major systems start shutting down."

"Oh. So what- what do I do?" Gregor asked haltingly.

"Well," Kix answered slowly, formulating a plan as he spoke. "You and I will work closely together to build a diet plan. You're being held here on a medical leave for the next few weeks, right?"

Gregor grimaced. "Yes. They say I can't be cleared for duty until I regain at least 60% of the muscle mass that I lost while I was on Abafar."

"Perfect. You'll need a lot of high-potassium foods and we'll have to monitor your salt intake, so you're better off here on Coruscant. Nutritional paste and ration packs are only meant to sustain your current physique with minimal loss of mass, so being on a ship wouldn't be in your best interest."

After Gregor indicated his understanding of Kix's explanation with a nod, Kix began working on the rough draft for a meal plan, calculating serving sizes and calorie requirements on the edges of the piece of flimsi. He sketched out a plan for weeks at a time, going as far out as a month and a half before Gregor would be back at full strength.

"When we're done, I'll place the data on a chip and we'll give it to one of the meal preparation droids so it can keep the diet going. I'm only on leave for the next few days, then I ship out for a month," Kix told him, tallying up a long column of totals. "If you don't mind, I'd like to have a med droid send me updates about your progress. I would like to check on your muscle gain when I get back, but I can at least give you advice about when it's safe to start exercising again."

"That's fine," Gregor said distantly.

Kix frowned down at the page before finishing up and holding it out to the commando. "Check this for me. If you have any particular objections to any of the foods I have listed, we can make adjustments. We just have to meet the calorie amounts I have listed per day."

Gregor made no move to take the piece of flimsi. "I'm sure it's fine."

"I'm sure it's not," Kix countered. "Studies have shown that you absorb more nutrients from foods you enjoy than those you don't. Look over the meal plan and tell me about the foods you don't like." Gregor still didn't move and Kix let his voice grow sharp. "That's an order, trooper."

The commando took the flimsi with the jerky motions of someone who had reacted on pure instinct, but he didn't even try to read it. Instead, he stood staring down at it blankly, guilt scrolling plainly across his face.

Kix stood and Gregor's gaze snapped to his face, something like fear budding in his expression as his breathing grew concerningly fast. Kix held his hands up, palms out, and put on his best soothing voice. "It's okay, _vod_. I just want you to sit down for a minute, yeah? I feel like we need to have an honest chat. Is that okay?"

"Y- yeah," Gregor stuttered slowly, face paler than the flimsi he still held in a loose grip. "Yeah, we can talk."

"I'm just going to help you sit down, all right?"

Gregor nodded, and Kix was alarmed to see how uncoordinated the gesture was. He walked around the desk with a calm he didn't feel, talking quietly and narrating his own actions all the while. "I'm going to come help you find a chair, that's all. We just need to get you sitting down. Is it okay if I touch your elbow?"

He waited for the commando to nod again before he gently grasped Gregor's elbow and steered him into a nearby chair. As soon as he sat down, Gregor sprawled slightly against the uncomfortably rigid backrest.

"What's going on, Gregor?" Kix asked, voice pitched low and gentle.

"I- I don't- I don't know," Gregor told him. "My heart hurts and I feel like I'm about to go into battle."

Fast heart rate. Adrenaline. Fear. Kix was willing to bet that Gregor was having a panic attack. "I'm going to touch your arm again. We're just going to put your hand on your stomach, okay?"

After another nod, Kix positioned Gregor's hand so that it was spread against his stomach, just under his ribs and diaphragm. As he had suspected, the commando was breathing shallowly, worsening his fluttering pulse.

"All right, Gregor," Kix said, deliberately using Gregor's name to draw his attention. "We're going to do a breathing exercise and I want you to feel the way your stomach and ribs move with it. I'm going to count to five as you breathe in. Ready?"

Gregor nodded and Kix started to count. "One… two… three… four… five… Okay, now hold it… two… three… four… five… Now breathe out… two… three… four… five… and hold… two… three… four…. five…"

He kept counting, Gregor kept breathing, and Kix could see the panic ebbing from his patient's tense posture. Eventually, Kix stopped speaking and Gregor continued breathing normally. When Gregor opened his eyes again, Kix asked, "How do you feel?"

"Tired," Gregor admitted, "but better. What was that?"

"I think you had a panic attack," Kix theorized. "Can you think of anything that may have caused it?"

"I'm not sure. I was thinking about Borkus and then you gave a command and I just- just…"

"That's okay, _vod_ ," Kix soothed, trying to ignore his own flare of guilt. "Tell me about Borkus. What made you think of him?"

"I- well… he never gave me much choice about what I ate. Or where I lived. Or what I did. I did so much…" Gregor's voice faded out so that Kix had trouble hearing his admission, "I shouldn't have been allowed to come back."

"Why not?" Kix asked, trying to keep his voice even. The last thing he wanted to do was trigger another panic attack.

"I- Borkus, he… I was his hired muscle. I did terrible things…"

"Did you hurt any innocents?"

"No," Gregor said, quick and firm. "I would never hurt anyone who wasn't part of the underworld, no matter what Borkus did to me. But I… I acted in ways that no soldier should."

"Listen, Gregor," Kix said, settling into a chair beside the commando. "That _shabuir_ Borkus is the one to blame here. He saw an opportunity to manipulate someone else for his own gain. You didn't know who you were or what you should do, but you knew enough not to hurt those who didn't deserve it. Borkus is the one who should feel ashamed for the things he made you do."

"But I'm the one who did them," Gregor countered. "How do I move on from that?"

"You live," Kix said simply. "Focus on getting your health back, and let time heal everything else. Now, how do you feel about meiloorun?"

Gregor frowned. "I'm not really sure. I've had the juice, but never the fruit."

Kix stood again. "Well, meiloorun is good for people trying to rebuild their bodies after starvation. I saw a shipment in the main hangar bay. Let's go grab a few and see if you like them."

"Right now?"

"I wrote your whole meal plan around them, and you would just have to deal with it if you hate them. Is that what you prefer?" Kix waved the sheet of flimsi around, satisfied with the easy way Gregor's eyes tracked the movement.

"Lead on," Gregor said easily, rising from his chair to follow Kix from the medbay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's the thing: I've only ever had one panic attack, so this chapter was written with a bit of research and a lot of drawing on my own limited experience. Much more research went into refeeding syndrome and the side effects of not eating enough calories in a day. Also, the thing Kix says about absorbing more nutrients from foods you enjoy is real! I've been using it as an excuse to eat inadvisable foods for the last month, though, so I guess it's cursed knowledge? You're welcome! (Message me if you want the sources I used for the information in this chapter)
> 
> On the medical side: if you're struggling with an eating disorder or even just a negative self-image, please seek the appropriate help. The negative side effects listed in this chapter are just the tip of the iceberg and eating less than you should will permanently damage your body - and, unlike Gregor, it will take more than just a few months to regain your health. The technique Kix uses to calm Gregor is called square breathing, and it helps me in times of stress or high tension. Look into it if you think it could help you, but obviously seek the advice of a professional.
> 
> Thank you to those who have bookmarked or subscribed to this story, as well as those who have left kudos. Special thanks to those who left reviews: missinashkin, ladytano26, fingonsradharp, Reader12OG, and anocrazyadventurer. You're all amazing!


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